Diving into the Sea
by Kitsune Foxfire
Summary: Legends tell of the renowned D clan, supposedly decimated centuries ago. Strong and nearly impossible to defeat, the clan was made up almost entirely of people with wings. When Donflamingo finds that not all Ds left are wingless like the Tenryūbito claim, he sets his eyes on exotic new pets. His brother Corazon will do all he can to stop him and save the four Ds that he found.
1. Chapter 1

**Kitsune here with my contribution to this year's One Piece Big Bang, hosted by Bae. I hope you like it. When I pitched the idea to Anj she was like "... I'm not sure…." But she say's it's a good story now, so…. Anyway, Beta read by Anjelle and WeRunYonder, and the WONDERFUL art by Insidiousdeep.**

**I broke it into chapters to make it easier on everyone. There's some time skipping here. The boys go from being, well, YOUNG, to being mid to late teens by the end. Some interesting notes at the end of the story. And JUST so we are clear. This story is more of a T+. THERE ARE POSSIBLE TRIGGERS. Like, RIGHT AWAY. Triggers include ****mutilation, self-harm, torture. PLEASE BE AWARE.**

* * *

The boy struggled valiantly against being tied down, kicking and screaming for his parents to _let him go_, that there must have been _some kind of mistake_. His arms were caught first, strapped to a steel bar above his head as he was forced face down onto the unforgiving table. The small wings, a beautiful mix of eggshell white and ash-gray flapped in desperation as the child tried to free himself. He was _scared_, and he didn't understand that what his parents did was for his own good.

Something they coldly reminded him while they captured his feet and strapped them down. The wings continued to flap uselessly as the boy tried to thrash before they too stilled, trembling. A hand reached out and gripped harshly at the soft feathers, yanking the limb as far away from the body as possible and causing the boy to cry out before something numbed the pain. It was for the child's own good. The demon marks had to be gotten rid of before anyone else found out. It was this or death, and as cold hearted as the parents seemed right now, they did not want that for their son. Not when it would mean the _taint_ would be traced back to them.

No, better to remove the evidence. With those thoughts the father brought the blade to the skin, feeling for the joint where the cursed wing fit in it's socket and began carving it out. He ignored the soul shattering screeches of the child below him. The boy was numb, and it was for his own good anyway. He'd understand when he was older how his parents had saved him. The man handed the first bloodied wing to his wife to dispose of in the fire before starting on the next with the same brutal efficiency. When it was done and his wife was burning away all evidence of the taint he roughly pulled the few feathers that remained on the skin before stitching up the gaping holes and bandaging his now unconscious son. He felt nothing but relief over what he had done.

* * *

Doflamingo looked down at the kid standing in front of him. Splotches of chalk-white skin had marred an already pale complexion, a sure sign of amber lead poisoning when he'd allowed Law to join them over two years ago. Now most of the kid's skin was that chalk color. Law had maybe a month or two left. Even he could admit it was a sad fate. Corazon had already tried to heal Law, taking the brat all over the New World and the Grand Line to boot. His brother was refusing to admit what Doffy had already realized; there was no cure. Little Trafalgar was going to die unless there was something the boy was not telling them.

He smirked, causing Law to glare defiantly up at him. "You're looking well."

Corazon shifted so his view of the boy was mostly blocked, holding up a piece of paper, his face pulled in a dark frown. ::_You said you had a way to cure Law._::

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" He grinned, eyeing the boy now hiding behind his younger brother. He wondered if his brother knew what sort of creature Law really was. At once lower than any regular human; and yet so much _more_ at the same time. The pathetic remnants of a defiant clan who'd sought to overthrow the tenryuubito. Something that had been lost - buried - in history along with everything that made the clan such a potential threat.

Rising from his seat he casually walked around the two, taking note of the way Law cutched at his brother's side and the way Cora even reached out to comfort him. His eyes narrowed at this, not liking how such a low _thing_ had wormed it's way into his brother's heart. Part of him wanted to just let the brat die as punishment. But he couldn't do that to Corazon. His brother asked for _so little_ from him. And this way… this way the boy would live at least. And he'd never be able to hurt them. "Come here, little Law."

The boy approached with great trepidation. He seemed stiff, as if his joints pained him slightly. Doflamingo couldn't have that. A quick flick of his finger that earned a frown from Corazon had the youngster standing straight in front of him. If Cora was unhappy with that, he was really not going to like what was next. "A little birdy told me you've been keeping secrets from me, Lawsy."

"What's that got to do with anything?!" The boy growled back, struggling. Good, he wanted him to struggle, to be scared.

"Brat." He roughly patted the speckled cap with a bit of fondness. "How do you expect us to be able to _help_ you if you don't tell us _everything_?"

"I told you everything that was important!"

"Did you, Trafalgar D. Water Law?" The boy's already white completion lost what little color it had as he stilled, eyes wide before he began thrashing. Doflamingo leaned over, grinning maniacally, "_Did you_?"

There was a tap on his shoulder, a hastily scribbled note, ::_What does it matter? He's just a brat.::_ So his brother knew. Intresting. But he obviously had forgotten the importance of that letter. Of what it could mean about the brat. He tightened his strings around the boy's neck, legs and hands, making sure to leave his chest alone and earning a pained cry.

"Have you forgotten about that hated clan, brother? About the secret carried in their genes?" He tightened his hold against the boy's thrashing, one large hand covering the diminutive head with carefully controlled force. His brother mutely asked him to just let Law go and he snorted, digging his fingers into the soft bone behind the ears lightly.

Trafalgar cried out, the sound muffled by the string biting into his neck. Doflamingo smirked in triumph when seconds later his hand was buffeted by two wings, black with large blotches of white covering them. Every movement sent white feathers flying into the air as the boy continued to struggle. Doflamingo looked at his brother, refusing to let up on his grip quite yet as he took in the look of shock. He was pleased; his brother had not been hiding this from him. Corazon hadn't known. But he bet the kid had. With the trauma he'd gone through, he had to have known that he was a _cursed _human. Ironic that very thing was saving his life. Roughly he shoved the brat into his brother's arms.

"Those wings have got to stay out until they stop shedding feathers everywhere. Do that and then the little shit is cured." He glared down at the now pale, shaking boy. He was no longer chalk white, though. "_Then_ we'll cut those damn things off. Fucking Ds. Be thankful I like you, kid, or I'd cut your _head_ off."

* * *

Corazon gently ran a hand over Law's quivering back as the boy slept fitfully. He hadn't expected the child to be one of the rare Ds that still carried the winged ability. The clan, back in it's days of power, had been made up almost exclusively of people with the ability to form, large powerful wings. While not exactly unusual in itself - there were other people in the world that had wings after all - how the D clan _used_ their wings was what made it so dangerous. Their wings acted almost like a liver, healing nearly any illness or poison the tenryuubito had thrown at them. If it didn't kill them the first time, it was rendered useless. The wings also allowed them to heal faster in general, too. When coupled with their typically insane strength, Corazon thought that had something to do with the strength needed to fly himself, it made them dangerous opponents. He eyed Law's wings. His brother had tied a rope at the base of them, forcing them to remain out for the world to see. It had been almost a week, and nearly all the feathers had turned white and fallen out, leaving both appendages frail looking. Law had told him he hadn't known the wings were _real_, he'd thought he had lost him mind. Everyone was dead, and these two soft wings had wrapped around him. He'd thought it was an angel. But when he'd woke hours later, they were gone.

Doflamingo had started collecting the feathers. He'd never been so disgusted in his life at his brother, taking to leaving his own feather jacket in his room. When the Ds were just a story of old - a boogie man of a sorts - he'd worn his jacket with a weird sort of pride. Sure, he hadn't agreed with what the tenryuubito had done to the clan in killing them off, but they had been a crazy unpredictable people. He'd never really thought that the jacket his brother had _lovingly_ given him had _actually_ been made up of wing feathers of some poor Ds! Now though… Even if Law's feathers were tiny, small things, he could see the similarities in the shape, the softness. It made him sick. _His people_ were sick, wearing the body parts of a clan they'd defeated.

Running a careful finger along the paper thin skin on the wing he noticed little quill-like nubs move under his touch. Corazon paused, looking hard at the wing before smiling. The feathers were growing back, and the last few on the wings had not turned white. Law was going to live. The smile fell when he realized that meant his brother was going to mutilate the child.

* * *

Law refused to talk about the wings. He refused to look in the mirror Corazon held up when he excitedly told the boy he was cured. "They're ugly."  
"Only right now. In a few weeks they'll be covered in feathers again, and will be _very_ pretty." He assured the boy after making sure his barrier was up.  
"I'm not going to _have_ them in a few weeks, so it doesn't matter anyway. They're ugly, and they mean I'm a monster." Law turned away from the mirror.

It broke Corazon's heart to hear the kid put himself down like that. He knew that the boy had heard the others talking. He'd probably heard rumors as a kid, too. How people with a certain type of wings bore the mark of the devil… all lies told by the tenryuubito, of course, but people believed it. As for Law having his wings removed... Well, there was no way he was going to let that happen. He'd had to scramble, but he had a plan. It relied heavily on playing to his brother's unease at the wings. "You're not a monster, Law. You're just a kid - a kid with a very special trait. Like a devil fruit, it doesn't make you a bad person. I need you to trust me, alright? I got a plan to get us out of this."

Trafalgar looked up at him in obvious surprise, "Us?"

"Yes, _us_. I told you I'd cure you, and I meant _all_ of you. Including your wings." When the child huffed and turned away he took the opportunity to gently unwind the rope binding the wings. "You might not like them, but they're part of you. And I'd never try to make you less than what you are." He assured the boy as the wings receded for the first time in over a week. Corazon was sure to hear about it from Doflamingo, but for his plan to work, his brother couldn't know what condition the wings were in - just that they'd stopped molting.


	2. Chapter 2

Ace rubbed against the tree, his back itching unbearably. It was enough to put him in a foul mood. Well, more than he usually was. With a frustrated snarl he threw himself against another tree, trying to relieve the irritation before freezing. He smelled blood. Cautiously he turned around and checked the tree, worried that he had scratched himself too hard. When there was nothing on the bark his brows furrowed, confused as to where the smell was coming from. If it wasn't him, that meant it was probably an animal. And _that_ meant a possibly easy kill. Which was just what he needed since he was much too distracted to hunt properly today. If he was unlucky he'd have to fight off other predators for the meat, but even that would be a welcome distraction to the itch.

His mind made up, he pushed his way through the underbrush towards the direction where the smell was coming from. It was thick in the air, telling him whatever it was was already very close by. Possibly on the other side of the pricker bush. He carefully used a thick stick to part the sharp branches and spied his prey, almost dropping his makeshift weapon in surprise. It was _boy_. Blond, with a tattered noble shirt and pants… so a _noble_ brat - one that had been in the woods for a while by the looks of it. He didn't _seem_ to be bleeding, but the way he held himself told a different story. Ace must have made a noise, because the boy spun, wincing at the motion before glaring at him and leveling a pipe threateningly. The dark haired youth felt a twinge of jealousy at the better quality weapon.

"Who are you?" The blond snapped.

Ace snarled back, "Who are _you_? You're in _my_ woods."

The other lowered his weapon slightly with a snort. "It's not your woods."

"Oh, are you going to claim them for yourself, _Noble_?"

"Don't call me that!" The venom behind those words took Ace back. "I'm _not_ \- I _won't_ go back!"

"Why not?" A glare met him. "Something to do with why you're hurt?"

"They can't have my _freedom_ too-" The blond huffed, lowering his pipe completely, "Who the hell are you?"

"... Ace. You?" He lowered his weapon as well.

"Sabo." The blond winced as he held out a hand.

Ace sighed reluctantly. So much for his easy meal. Now it looked like he'd be hunting for two. Because he might be a bastard, but he couldn't leave Sabo alone in these woods bleeding like he was… "Come on, I'll get us some fish."

The place he led them was luckily free of crocodiles for a change. He didn't think he could deal with that today on top of everything else. Unfortunately the fish were all in the deeper water, which required him to go for a swim. He tossed his pole at Sabo, earning a surprised look, before diving into the water. A short while later he was kicking his way to the shore with a massive fish in tow. For being a noble's brat, Sabo was a pretty decent partner and caught on fast, slamming his steel pipe into the head of the fish and killing it instantly before helping him drag it to shore.

"I can start a fire…" The blond offered, pointing to the wood already gathered. Ace just nodded, pulling off his shirt before turning to grab the fish and gutting it. There was a gasp behind him, and he spun, looking for the threat only to see Sabo staring at him with wide eyes. "You- you have feathers!"

Ace felt his blood freeze. "No I don't!" No one could know that! He hadn't used his wings all day and-

"You do, between your shoulders." Sabo held out a hand placatingly, his other one undoing the buttons of his shirt before letting it drop and revealing a thick swatch of bloody bandages. "I do too... But you, you still have your wings, right?" He asked excitedly.

He could only nod mutely, easily guessing what had happened to Sabo, driving him out into the woods. Then and there he swore nothing like that was ever going to happen to him- and _no one_ was going to hurt Sabo again.

* * *

Doflamingo didn't bother looking up from his book when his brother entered the room. He chose to ignore him instead, turning the page with a calm disinterest he didn't feel. The whole _thing_ with young Trafalgar being a _D_ of all things just rubbed his face in the fact that his beloved sibling was _hiding_ things from him. He didn't like that, especially from his brother who had gone through hell with him growing up. Doflamingo would happily blame Law for corrupting Corazon but his brother had gone soft _before_ the little shit had joined. He turned the page again, glancing up to where his brother nervously stood. He 'tsked' at himself, disgusted at how soft the other had become. Finally he looked up, glaring at the younger. "_What?_"

:: Law's wings have stopped molting.:: The note said.

"You interrupted me for that?" He turned the page again.  
:: ...What's wrong?::

Doflamingo snapped the book shut. "Besides the fact you're cozying up to a _D_?"

::You were training him to be your second before you found out he was a D.:: His brother calmly wrote back. ::Even though he was _dieing_.::

"That's just it. I didn't _know_." He stood, storming up to his brother, "But you did. Didn't you?"  
::I don't see-:: He took the note and ripped it.  
"Of course you don't see! What else are you hiding from me?"

Corazon looked surprised. ::Hiding?:: One eyebrow went up in confusion, and he felt some of the tension unwind. ::When I found out about Law I left a note. I thought you'd seen it.::

"What note? Why not tell me in person you fool!" He shoved his brother and was shoved in return.

::Because it wasn't important. Kid was going to die anyway.::

"Then why did you bother to save him? You should have let him die."

Corazon shrugged. ::He's not much use to you dead.::

"He's a D! A winged one. You should have let him."

::I didn't know about the wings.:: His brother turned away, ::Reminded me of us.::

Doflamingo took the note, fingering the words. It cooled his anger more than he'd like, but since he'd felt the same about the brat before finding out he was a D, he could see it. The world against them, fighting for their right to live and proving that they really _were_ better than normal people. Not that he'd actually expected Law to be anything special, and being a D definitely didn't make him _better._ The opposite was true, in fact; Ds were the lowest of the low, the clan that had refused to acknowledge their position _below_ the tenryuubito - worse, they'd gotten others to rebel as well. The clan had deserved to be broken. His hands tightened on the note in anger. Other tenryuubito believed that what was left of the clan wasn't a threat. He knew better, but then again, he was even better than the other tenryuubito. _He_ could rule without hiding behind a title...and he wasn't going to let some young D take that away from him. "That's the only reason I'm not killing him. Once we take away the taint, he'll learn his place and serve me well."

* * *

"Luffy, Luffy you have to stop struggling. I have you now; I won't let you drown." Shanks attempted to stop the flailing child. A task made more difficult by his missing arm and his own shock over the turn of events in the last few minutes. His little anchor had gone and sprouted _wings_ of all things! Wings that were heavy with salt water and threatening to drag the kid down even faster than his devil fruit. Shanks winced as one gray wing slapped wryly against the stub of his arm.

In truth if it wasn't for the sandbar there would have been no way for him to keep both of them afloat until Benn arrived with a boat. Not as injured as Shanks was. He wished his first mate would hurry up. He was bleeding heavily and Luffy was starting to shiver. While trying to keep Luffy up on his hip he attempted to wrap his arm around the wings to hold them closer to the boy and keep them out of the water. They were slick and hard to get a grip on even though Luffy wasn't fighting him. It was a relief when he spotted Benn, and he couldn't stop from calling out to his friend, "Over here!"

Immediately Benn dropped the oar and waved, changing course for the two stranded in the ocean. Now that the end was in sight Shanks could feel himself start to shiver. He knew from experience shock was setting in. He'd lost a lot of blood and if Benn took much longer he was going to find himself without a captain. It was a relief when the skiff pulled up alongside them, his friend's face drawn taught in worry at the sight of all the blood in the water.

"It's all mine. Luffy's not hurt. Can you take him for me though?" He turned, offering the small child to his first mate. Benn was quick to comply, but froze slightly at the sight of the rather large wings that now flopped loosely between the two adults. "Benn, worry about that later. Get him in the boat."

"Aye, Captain." The reaction was automatic as Benn placed the shivering boy in the boat and turned to help Shanks. He cooly assessed the missing limb before clasping Shanks arm and hauling him aboard. "I'll get this tied off. You sit and take it easy."

"Take care of Luffy first."

"I'm f-f-fine." Luffy protested weakly.

"No you're not, anchor. You've got half the ocean in those wings. Fluff up and Benn will help you towel off."

Benn glared at him, "After I take care of your arm."

It only took the man a moment to tightly tie a piece of cloth around the stub to prevent Shanks from bleeding out. Then both men turned their attention back to the boy who was tightly huddled into a ball. "Luffy, come on now. Fluff up those wings better than that." Shanks encouraged.

"Do I even want to ask _why_ he has wings?"

"I don't have wings!"

"Probably not." Shanks cheerfully informed Benn before sighing. "Yes you do. Cool ones that you smacked the hell out of me with."

"No I don't! Jiji said I don't! Wings make you a monster! I don't wanna be a monster!" Luffy shook harder, crying. Shanks had never wanted to punch Garp as much as he did in that moment.

Gently he placed his hand on Luffy's head, "Hey, listen to me, Anchor. This doesn't make you a monster. This is just part of who you are, alright? I think it's really cool, too. You know, not everyone who's a D has wings, and I bet your Jiji was just saying that because he wanted you to fit in."

"Jiji doesn't…."

"So how would he know if it makes you a monster or not, hmmm?" Shanks smiled before looking over at Benn. "You think Luffy here is a monster?"

His first mate had caught on quickly and snorted, "Hardly. He thinks you're amazing, what kind of monster would think that?"

"There, you see? Would _Benn_ lie to you?"

"...No…" He blinked up at them, still sniffiling. "You _sure_ I'm not a monster?"

"Positive. Now, come on, fluff up. You need to dry off a bit before those wings vanish on you."

"They'll vanish?!"

Shanks laughed, "Until you learn to control them, yeah. You'll be fine, kid. It's normal."

Luffy stared at him, eyes wide and unbelieving. In truth Shanks didn't blame him. In all his years on the Grand Line he had only seen a winged D once... What he had seen that day only made him worry for the little anchor all the more as the docks came into view. Benn must have felt the same way because despite the urgent need to get Shanks to a doctor, he slowed down to give the boy's wings a chance to recede. The two adults shared a look, both aware that despite the love the village had for Garp's grandson, _they_ would see the wings as something dark- evil. That was the Yanko's worry- that Luffy would end up like the other winged D he had met. Dead at the hands of his loved ones who were trying to 'remove' the taint. At last the wings folded close to Luffy's body and were drawn in, leaving only a few pieces of fluff behind. The boy yawned.

* * *

"Law, it'll be alright now." Corazon repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time as he gently tucked the boy on the only bed in the cabin. The ship he'd managed to obtain wasn't very good, but it would serve its purpose in getting them the hell away from his brother. He'd always _known_ his brother was… dangerous… but the man was seriously starting to lose it. After 'removing' Law's wings a week ago Corazon had truly hoped that would be the end of it - at least until he could get away. But no. Instead his brother had _played_ with the large plucked bird wings he had substituted at length before announcing at dinner tonight that he was going to start a _collection_. A collection of winged Ds.

They had to get out of there. True, he didn't have a reliable map yet, but he couldn't wait any longer. The marines would be no help in this, either, not with the public stance they took on winged Ds. So when the sky was at its darkest, right before false-dawn, he bundled Law up and fled. Corazon had no delusions of their safety, despite what he told his young charge. If Doflamingo found them, he'd _kill_ Corazon and quite possibly do worse to Law. But then they'd just have to make it so his brother wouldn't find them. He glanced down at the shivering, silent boy who watched him with wide, frightened eyes and knew all the hardships ahead were worth it.

He smiled, "I promise you, we'll be alright. I'll _always_ protect you."

"S-shut up." The boy replied, cheeks coloring as he turned away.

Corazon smiled wider, ruffling his hat before leaving the small cabin to navigate the dangerous waters. He had a job to do, and he _wouldn't_ fail.

* * *

"Gramps!" Luffy grinned up at the formidable marine safely from behind Shanks. "Isn't Shanks cool? He's a pirate and he saved me and he said I wasn't a monster or anything because I had wings and stuff! I wanna be just like him when I grow up!"

Garp frowned at his grandson, causing the small boy to cower back as he took a step forward, fist raised. "I'm raising you to be a marine!" He snapped, shoving past the Yonko to slam his fist into the young skull. Shanks bit back a growl at Luffy's cry of pain, not surprised when the boy darted out of range, once more clinging to Shanks. Garp opened his mouth, eyes thunderous as he finally processed what else the boy had said. "_Wings_? When I get my hands on you, boy-"

"You will do nothing." Shanks turned his attention to Makino, resting his hand on Luffy's head. "I think I hear Luffy's stomach. Why don't you two go get a bite to eat? And can you grab me a bottle of sake while you're at it?"

"Of course." She said, scooping up the protesting boy with a shaky smile and leaving. She knew very well that what the two powerful men were about to discuss wasn't something Luffy should hear.

"If I _ever_ hear you calling your grandson a monster or a freak again, I will _take_ him from you."

"He is my grandchild! You have no right, Akagami." Garp bit out, "filling his head with nonsense. Telling him his having _wings_ is natural-"

"It is. For him."

The marine snorted, "I'll fix _that_ soon enough. Can't be a Marine with _wings_-"

Shanks drew his blade and had it resting against Garp's neck in a flash, his eyes cold. "If you so much as touch one feather I will bring war upon the marines. He is just a _boy_, Garp. Teach him to hide them, hide _him_ away if you want. But hurt him, Garp- well, let's just say I have allies of my own who won't take _kindly_ to the maiming of a promising child."


	3. Chapter 3

"Swear to god, Ace. Magic fingers." Sabo moaned, leaning back harder into his hands as he pressed and twisted his fingers just so against the muscles of Sabo's back. Just because his oath brother didn't have wings any more didn't mean he no longer had those muscles that were supposed to move them. Muscles that when pressed just so on Ace caused his wings to appear in a fluttering mass of contentment. So he knew exactly how good this felt.

Once a week the two of them took the time to do this _preening_, usually out of sight of Dadan and her men. No point in rubbing the bandits faces in the fact that both boys were winged Ds, after all. Today, though, it had been threatening to storm all morning. So after a quick run to procure meat for everyone both boys had retreated to the roof of the hut where their activities would draw less attention. They could still beat a hasty retreat inside once the storm hit and stay dry though.

Ace felt Sabo tense under his hands before the blond spoke, "Jiji alert."

"What the hell is the shitty marine doing here?" Ace growled in reply, hands stilling as he rested his chin on Sabo's shoulder to watch Garp's approach. "He was here just a few months ago."

"Tell me about it. I _still_ have bruises, you know." Sabo groaned in reply. "Looks like he's got a tag-along."

"Dadan is going to _love_ this. Bet you it's his bratty grandson." Both studiously ignored the fact that Garp had adopted them. They didn't _want_ to be marines, they never had. As far as they were concerned, the old man was crazy and was welcome to focus all of his attention on his _actual_ grandson. They reasoned he would have more luck with the brat, anyway. Judging by the way the kid was kicking up a fuss they could be wrong, though. "That is one _angry_ brat."

"Looks like he ate a devil fruit - he's all stretchy. No wonder Garp is pissed. He thinks those things are cheating."

"He thinks everything is cheating." Ace pointed out, watching the kid as he was unceremoniously dropped to the ground so Garp could pound on the door. They felt the vibrations all the way on the roof. Dark hair, dark eyes, short. The brat didn't look all that smart, either, as he went poking at the dog. Hopefully Dadan wouldn't cave.

"What the hell do you- Garp?! What are you doing here? Whatever those boys did I have nothing to do with it, you-"

"Dadan," Garp cut her off, "this is Luffy. He'll be staying with you from now on."

"This isn't a daycare! I'm not taking in another!"

"I wanna go back to the village! I don't wanna stay with any stinky bandits!"

"What was that, you brat?"

"You don't scare me, I'm gonna be a pirate!"

As both the adults stared at the boy in shock, Sabo started to snicker. "That is perfect. Even his real grandson wants to be a pirate. Kid has guts, I'll give him that."

"He can go have his guts somewhere else." Ace huffed, earning a look. "We don't need him here, he's a loudmouth, Sabo. What if he sees your scars? Or worse, my wings?"

Both watched as Luffy argued how he was going to be a great pirate and that Shanks said people who ate devil fruits weren't monsters _so shut up stupid Jiji!_ as well as whatever else seemed to pop into his head.

"We're doomed." Sabo moaned, agreeing with him. This kid was a loud mouth. The moment he figured out that Ace had wings he was going to blab to _Garp,_ at least.

* * *

It was sheer luck he'd stumbled across this island on his way to the one his log-pose was pointed too. After dropping his anchor, Corazon had quickly explored the island, hoping to find some supplies to aid them on their journey and instead had realized they'd stumbled across the perfect hiding place. The island wasn't big per se, but it would be more than big enough for the two of them. There were plenty of fruit-bearing plants, fresh water, and even some smaller game animals- nothing too big or dangerous that could be a threat to the slowly recovering child he'd sworn to protect no matter what the cost. The chances of his brother finding them here were impossibly slim. Hell, Corazon wasn't even really sure where they were; he'd ignored the log post's change in direction for the last three weeks of sailing and taken his chances in navigation to get as far away from his brother as possible. A risky gamble that seemed to have paid off.

The former pirate returned to the ship, eyes landing briefly on the boy tossing and turning in his sleep before grabbing some extra cloth and returning to the shore to make a makeshift camp. He'd worry about making it better later, but right now he just wanted to get his young charge settled. Law was limp in Corazon's arms as he carried his small form from the boat to the sandy shore. The youth stirred groggily as he was placed gently down on the sail, squinting up at Corazon in the sun.

"Where are we, Cora-san?"

"An island." Seeing the boy tense, he smiled, "No one here but us, Law. We're safe. We _finally_ got away."

Law's gray eyes were untrusting as he looked into the smile, breaking Cora's heart even if he understood it. The kid didn't voice his worries, though. "How long can we stay?"

"As long as we need to. You just focus on getting better and let me worry about the rest. I'll take care of it."

His only response was a weary sigh and Law rolling over, showing him his much abused back before drifting back off to sleep.

* * *

Luffy was nothing if not persistent over the next few months. For some reason he'd attached himself to Sabo and Ace, insisting on following them every chance he got despite the cold shoulder the older boys gave him. They consistently ditched him in the woods every day, only for him to stumble back to the hut later that night with a smile on his face in spite of the cuts and scrapes that covered his body. The silent treatment didn't work, neither did Ace's method of shouting curses and insults. All it did was make them feel bad, like kicking a puppy.

"This is pathetic." Ace groaned as he and Sabo took a route that wasn't quite as deadly as one they would have taken the first week. A glance over his shoulder showed their shadow merrily following along, humming away.

"What do you want us to do, kill him?"

"No! I just want him to leave us the hell alone. For _one day_ at least. My wings itch, Sabo."

The blond sighed, "Well, why not _ask_ him to stop following us?"

"Wait. We can _do_ that?" Ace gaped at him before turning on his heels and walking over to the grinning boy. He frowned down at the boy. "Stop following us." Watching Luffy wilt was kind of painful so Sabo didn't blame Ace for looking away as he continued, "It's annoying. _You're_ annoying. Just stop it and leave us alone. Go back to Dadan."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, brat! You're really starting to piss me off. _Go away_ already!"

Luffy sniffled once before turning around and heading back towards the bridge leading towards Dadan's base. He looked so sad and lonely Sabo had to stop himself from calling the kid back. Looking at the way Ace was resolutely _not_ watching said the other felt the same way. But it had been getting ridiculous. "We'll just bring him something nice back from Gray Terminal, yeah?"

His oath brother nodded, turning once more to continue down the path towards Gray Terminal. They'd walked maybe a dozen yards when a high pitched, frightened shout froze them in their tracks. As one, the boys spun around and raced towards the bridge, towards Luffy. He might have been a pain in the ass, but he was still a gutsy pain in the ass. Luffy apparently had managed to somehow _break_ the bridge and was now clutching desperately at the boards closest to Ace and Sabo. Sabo swallowed dryly at the sight; Luffy wasn't even bothering to cry out for help, instead fully invested in stopping his slow backwards slide into the gaping hole in the boards. The blond knew why. At the bottom of the ravine was a deep river. One that, as a devil fruit user, would spell instant death for the brat instead of saving his life. The terror in those dark brown eyes spoke the truth of that. Quickly he and Ace cut free a vine and tossed it to the kid, both braced to pull him up. "Grab on, Luffy!"

"I'm scared!" The boy wailed as he scrambled for the vine and lost precious inches in the process before he caught it. "Don't let me fall!"

"Just shut up and hold on, you idiot! We're not going to let anything happen to you!" Ace bit out as they started pulling.

The boards creaked and the vine stretched with a snapping groan. Both older boys stared in shock as, with a yelp, Luffy vanished from view. "Shit!" Ace snarled, wings unfurling as he flapped furiously in an attempt to pull the vine up as fast as possible.

Sabo didn't say a word as he joined in, nervous at the sudden lightened load. He didn't _want_ to be responsible for the brat's death! Garp would kill them! After what seemed like an eternity, a mop of dark hair appeared followed by wide, frightened eyes and - Sabo blinked as they gave the vine a final tug.

Luffy lay on the boards for the briefest of moments before throwing himself at them, propelled by two ratty-looking gray wings. "I was so _scared!_"

"You... Have wings." He pointed out in shock.

Luffy tensed, "So? Shanks says I'm _supposed_ to have wings so it's _normal._ I'm _not_ a monster or nothing!" He shouted.

Sabo glanced over at Ace for a moment before looking back at the younger boy, remembering their conversation when they'd first seen Luffy. "Does _Garp_ know you have wings?"

Ace jumped slightly, eyes narrowing as he watched the boy. If Garp thought devil fruits were cheating...

"Jiji is a stupid head." Luffy huffed, wings fluffing up. "I'm _not_ a- a freak! Shanks said just cause Jiji is scared for me doesn't mean he has to be an asshole about it."

"Did he threaten you?" Ace asked, his own wings flaring subconsciously.

"He hit me." Luffy replied, "then he brought me here and I don't like bandits."

"Right. But what did he tell you?" Sabo wondered as he pulled out a stick from the mud-caked gray wings. Luffy really needed a good preening.

"Not to use my wings. Ever. Hide them. Bunch of other stuff. I don't know, I wasn't listening. Hey, Ace has wings too!"

Ace punched him in the back of the head, "You're an idiot! You just realized this now?!"

The boy laughed, "I know. Hey hey, Sabo, do you have wings?"

Sabo wilted. "I did..."

"Cool! We're like brothers, then!"

"Who'd want an annoying little shit like you for a brother?" Ace snarled, trying not to grin as he met Sabo's eyes. They'd found _another_ Winged D!

* * *

Sabo leaned back against the tree as he watched his two bond brothers spar. It was more of a slaughter, really. Luffy's form was horrible, his stretchy limbs getting in his own way, making him more a danger to himself than Ace. Of course Ace couldn't resist taunting the youngest in a way that sounded cruel, even to Sabo. Luckily Luffy _generally_ knew Ace didn't really mean it. As he watched Luffy punch himself in the face the blond winced, reminding himself that the brat was getting better… slowly. If he had to hazard a guess he'd say that devil fruits were _hard_ to get control of - and he was sure Ace would agree - but comparing Luffy's skill to what they were like at his age was painful.

He was going to ignore the fact that already the boy rarely lost a fight against a _normal_ person or animal in the woods. His overly trusting nature meant that all someone had to do was offer his little brother _food_ in the middle of a fight and the brat would lose. _That_ was something neither of the elder brothers would allow. Sabo's wing sockets ached just _thinking_ what would happen to the youngest of them if he was caught and found out. Being a devil fruit user was bad enough, but if someone found out he was a _winged_ D? No, Ace might be being a bit cruel, but they all realized it was for their own good. Each pushed each other hard to improve, to get stronger and maybe someday soon leave the island that was both their home and their cage before _Jiji Garp_ found out exactly what they were planning. Because there was no way in hell any of them would survive being marines.

* * *

"Come on, Luffy, you can catch him!" Sabo shouted, being sure to lag behind his brothers as the youngest raced after Ace. He wanted to be ready to help if Luffy's wings got tangled in a tree again. Every week since they'd discovered their new little brother was also a winged D and absolutely _horrible_ at controlling them, they'd taken it upon themselves to work with Luffy. Mostly he ended up stuck in a bush at some point, but the run to Gray Terminal while flapping was the best way to learn. At least, that's what Ace said. Sabo agreed in part, but he thought that Ace might have just wanted to see Luffy get stuck a bunch. It was kind of entertaining. And he was progressively getting better, so there was that.

"WAAA! Sabo, Ace! HELP!" Luffy cried out, tangled up in some vines right at the edge of the jungle. Maybe Sabo was giving him too much credit about getting better….

"Hold still, you crybaby!" Ace snapped, his own wings flaring up in agitation as he stormed back. Despite his words Sabo could tell his hands were gentle as he untangled the downy soft, gray wings.

Luffy beamed at them, brown eyes trusting - Sabo would even say too trusting. But that's what made the brat so precious to them both. They swore they'd never let anyone harm him the way _Sabo _had been hurt, or talk about him the way _Ace_ had been talked about. Reaching them he went to help, once again surprised on how thoroughly Luffy'd managed to get himself tangled up. It took the two of them to get him down, unwinding the vines from the delicate wings. Neither were paying too much attention to their surroundings as they worked. When they heard a gasp come from behind Ace, both spun, Luffy falling to the ground free, just in time to see someone race away. Ace snarled, wings fluttering before he forcefully pulled them back in.

"What happened?" Luffy asked, confused.

"Don't worry about it, Lu…. it's nothing." Ace replied, worry in his eyes as he looked at Sabo. The man who'd seen them was too far away to go after now, but hopefully they could track him down by the end of the day and _convince_ him he hadn't seen anything. If not, Sabo knew his brothers were going to be in danger. Wordlessly he promised himself to break their code of silence and ask Dadan and her crew for help incase the worst happened. He didn't think he could handle it if they were hurt because he had failed to notice something as stupid as someone spying on them.

* * *

Hightown was buzzing with the news that a tenryuubito was coming to visit. The already sparkling streets were scrubbed again until you could see your reflection in them. Every last bit of trash had been toss out into gray Terminal to be properly _disposed of_ a few days before the noble being visited. The burning had lit the inside of the walls all day and night last week. It wouldn't do to have everything smell of burned rubbish. _Especially_ the stench of those worthless beings who lived in that dump. Everything was going smoothly. The only problem was finding something adequate to present the esteemed tenryuubito as a gift. Each family had brought forth their best trinkets only for each to be rejected as _not quite_ good enough. Secretly the families were relieved, though outwardly they sputtered and cursed, stating that they themselves had the best item.

The king of Hightown was beginning to panic. The tenryuubito would be visiting in just a few more days, and he still had not come across the perfect gift. He'd worked himself into such a state he almost didn't hear his advisor when the wizened old man cleared his throat. "What?" he snapped.

"My Lord. If I may be so bold?"

"Get on with it then, can't you see I'm busy!"

The elderly man cleared his throat again, glancing around before meeting the king's eyes. "It has come to my attention, my Lord, that there are rumors going around Hightown about a certain mischievous trio." The king almost rolled his eyes at this. There were _always_ tales being told about those three troublemakers. This was not new. The advisor seemed to sense he was losing the king because he hastened to add, "Rumors about at least _one_ of the boys having _wings_."

The king stared at him. If this was true….if it was true, he had his gift to the tenryuubito, _and_ got rid of the pests. Because where one went the other two did. It was a fact of life. "Who told you this?"

"Gamal the merchant, who heard it from one of the pirates hired to burn gray Terminal. He won't share _which_ of the little brats did. From what _I_ could gather, the three of them gave him _quite_ the beating to keep his silence. A few gold coins loosened his tongue easily enough."

"And you're sure of this?"

"Positive. There have been whispers before this, my Lord. But this time they were _seen_."

The king smiled, finally feeling the thrill his citizens did at the thought of the impending visit. True, it would be a little bit of work to catch them, but it could easily be done. They were only kids, after all. "Excellent. Here's what we're going to do."

* * *

Doflamingo watched as the Whitebeard pirate tugged futility, rattling the chains holding him. He found it ironic that the man had been so bold as to lead a raid into _his_ territory only to get caught. Normally he'd have just killed the scum outright. Newgate wasn't someone to be trifled with lightly and keeping one of his children captive was sure to piss the man off. But _this_ Whitebeard brat offered an opportunity too good to pass up. Doflamingo had caught the rather rotund man in his strings, tightening them slowly only for the man to surprise him by sprouting large, greasy black wings. He'd return his body to Whitebeard eventually… after he'd gotten all the answers he could out of the man.

"You're name is Marshall D. Teach, isn't it?"

"If you know who I am then you should know better than to mess with me. I'm a _Whitebeard_ pirate!"

"Tell me, does Newgate know one of his sons is a _winged_ D?" Don Quixote asked with a wicked grin, causing his captive to still.

"It's none of your fucking business! Let me go or Pops-!"

"But you just got here. And I have _so_ many questions…" His grin grew, "Like for instance, how exactly to make those _precious_ wings of yours appear when _I_ want them to."

Lightning fast he struck out, aiming a blow in the area his strings had tightened around before. Sadly, the only result was a pained grunt from the rotund man followed by a glare. Obviously it had not been the pressure point he had accidently pressed upon before. No matter, he had plenty of time to find it before Whitebeard arrived looking for his wayward little bird. Too bad that by the time the man retrieved his son he would be nothing but a broken corpse. If those wings were as greasy as they'd looked, he'd even let the man keep them.

* * *

Garp looked down at Ace, suppressing the urge to shake the boy. He was so disappointed in him; not only had he been caught with his wings out and nearly given to the tenryuubito, but he had gotten _Luffy_ caught, as well. If Sabo hadn't managed to get away and find him, two of his boys would have been worse than dead. It was only the knowledge that, despite appearing otherwise, Ace cared deeply for his adopted brothers that stopped Garp. "What am I supposed to do with you boys now?"

Ace tensed and shot him a glare. "It's not like you're responsible for us anyway, you shitty old man!"

"Watch your tone, you ungrateful brat!" He snapped, cuffing the boy upside the head. "I just put my career on the line to save you two-"

"No one asked you to!"

"Keep that attitude up and I really _will_ cut those wings of yours off, no matter who I promised otherwise." He warned. Luffy flinched away, ducking into Sabo's side as both his older boys glared. It wasn't something Garp in any way _wanted_ to do despite his harsh words to the contrary. But he would if it meant saving their lives, and since Luffy lacked the wisdom to hide them and Ace seemed to insist on flaunting his wings, it might be the only choice left soon. The old man sighed, "I'm returning to marine headquarters. In a month or so a ship will arrive to take you there."

"I don't wanna go..." Luffy whined.

"I don't really care. You three are staying where I can keep an eye on you. Maybe there you'll learn how to _hide_ your wings."

Sabo gaped at him, "You can't be serious!"

"Very. Don't even think about _not_ getting on that ship, either. If I have to come back here..." All three visibly cringed. With another sigh he nodded at Dadan, trusting her to watch them for the month. He felt like he had aged a decade in a few short hours. "Hate me now. But I can't be sorry. One day you'll understand that I'm doing this to protect you."

* * *

The denden mushi rang, and Doflamingo frowned at it. Vergo had only been with the marines for a little more than a year. Calling him on a denden was a risky move, something that the man would only risk if things were dire. He didn't like it at all. After letting it ring for a while the leader of the pirates picked up, but he didn't say anything, just in case his man had been discovered.

"I have news, Young Master. Monkey D. Garp will be transporting his three grandsons to marine headquarters in two weeks."

"Oh?" He wondered why _this_ was important enough for Vergo to break radio silence.

"They're coming from Goa Kingdom in the East Blue."

Where there had been a rumor that some nobles on that backwater island had tried to sell a visiting tenryuubito a kid with wings only to be mocked by the tenryuubito - there were no more winged Ds according to his _brethren_. Doflamingo smiled, seeing where Vergo was going with this. "That _is_ interesting."

"Isn't it? No one is supposed to know that is the _real_ reason the ship is setting sail, either." There was a sound of knocking on the other end. "Your orders?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "Act like you know nothing. Stay _off_ that ship, Vergo. Good job bringing this to my attention."

"Thank you, Young Master." The line went dead.

Oh, he had _plans_ for that ship. The moment that vessel crossed into the Red Line he'd strike. The chance at not one but three winged Ds was much too tempting… and this time he'd be sure to show them their proper place at his feet quickly. He'd learned from Law and his brother that a D had to be broken quickly before they corrupt those around them. He knew _just_ how to begin, too.


	4. Chapter 4

"Let go of me! _LET GO!_" Doflamingo smirked behind his steepled hands as he watched Pica and Machvise drag his new acquisitions into the room. Three young male specimens. Topless and cleaned as he had requested, as well as properly shackled in heavy stone on one leg and seastone on the other. Though it appeared only one of his new Ds had eaten a fruit already. He'd have to ask his men the details on that.

He watched, not bothering to hide his amusement as the three were forced to their knees before him before he spoke. "Were there any survivors?"

"None, Young Master. Just like you commanded." Pica informed him.

"We have sunk the ship to be sure, iin."

Doflamingo rose, "Good. Now, what have you brought me?"

"Two full wings and a cut-wing, iin." Machvise shrugged, "It's still a winged D, even if it ain't got wings. Figured you might have _some_ use for it."

"I'm not an _it,_ you bastard!" The blond one snapped, making it easy to know which they were talking about. Wordlessly Doflamingo held out his hand and Pica passed over the chain connected to the boy's shackles. "What are you doing? Stop it!"

"Lesson one. What you _want_ means nothing here." He informed his new… pet. Yes, he liked that. He dragged the blond the whole way back to the chair before picking him up by the back of his neck and draping him over his knee, ignoring the weak kicks as he eyed the damaged back with a frown. A thick patch of gray and blue feathers spread out between the shoulderblades, almost hiding the scars, but not quite. Ruthlessly he pressed his thumb against one, earning an ear piercing shriek of pain as the body on his leg tried to squirm away. He didn't allow it, of course, pressing harder until he felt the bone underneath - a smooth, clean removal. This brat was useless to him. Or would have been, if he hadn't chosen that moment to lash out with a kick much stronger than before. Doflamingo let up, feeling the body sag in relief as he thought about that kick. It was easily as powerful as that of a full grown man, meaning even a cut-wing retained some of their monstrous abilities. He supposed it was only logical, if only the wings were lost. "Congratulations, you're not worthless." He informed the blond. "I think I'll call you… Sky."

"That's-Not-My-Name!" The youth growled.

He pressed his fingers right at the base of the shoulder blades and dug in, and the boy cried out, his back spasming as his body tried to produce the wings he no longer had even as he bowed his spine away from the touch. Doflamingo kepted pressing until the boy sobbed, still too proud to beg. "You foolish little thing. I'll let the back-talk go with a warning this time, _Sky_. In the future, though, I won't be so kind. You three belong to me now, and my word is law." He tossed the moaning Sky back at Machvise. Both the two full winged Ds glared at him, though the smaller of the two was being shielded as best as the bigger one could manage. It was obvious with how the younger was drooping that he was the Devil Fruit user. He smirked down at the two before snatching the older one.

This time he didn't bother to let his new pet drag his feet, instead carrying the kicking, squirming body to his chair before taking his seat once more. The D in his lap attempted to bite him and his smile took on a cruel edge as he dug his fingers into those oh-so-sensitive muscles on the back. "Lesson two: You will _always_ present your wings when I am around or be punished. No hiding what you are, pets."

It shrieked and howled in pain as two reasonably large wings weakly beat against Doflamingo's legs in a useless tempo. Still the pirate continued to press his point home into the back bowed away from him until the wings fell limp. The Ds' whole body shuddered silently in pain. Only then did he remove his hands from the back of his pet's neck and back, using his strings to hold it still as he explored the wings at his leisure. They were well feathered, gray for the most part with shades of orange mixed in here and there. The orange feathers felt firmer, less soft to his hands. He assumed he was looking at adult plumage coming in. Most of the color seemed concentrated on the lower half of the wings. Those would have to go...but not today. The body on his lap was already in a state of shock. Despite all he knew of Ds, he wasn't sure how _hardy_ young ones were. So instead with a final tug on the right wing he placed his pet on the ground before Pica, where it promptly collapsed.

"Young Master, is it to your liking?"

"Yes, Pica. Sun here is an excellent choice." The renamed D made a choked sound of protest but nothing more.

The youngest was openly crying now, silent tears running down his face as he still managed to glare defiantly at Doflamingo. It was a simple thing to pick him up, walking back to the chair as the little one kicked at open air. "Leave Lu-ffy alone, you bastard!" Sky managed to gasp out. He ignored his pet, keeping his attention on the youngest.

"Where are your wings, _pet_?" He smirked at the little one darkly.

"No! Jiji said hide them and-"

"I'm your master now, pet. What your _jiji_ told you means nothing anymore. Wings out now, or feel the same pain as the other two."

"I don't know _how_." It snapped, glaring through it's shiver.

That was an interesting thing to admit. He supposed it was only logical, since young Ds blended with humans so well. They had to be taught how to call their wings at will… Still, his new pet would have to learn fast. Without another word he placed the youth across his knees and pressed, not gentle despite knowing full well the boy had no control. Pain was an excellent motivator to learn. He found it interesting how the youngest's shrieking whimpers of pain had both the other two pulling at their restraints, trying to get to him, calling out in obvious distress for the youngest, well after the body on his lap had stilled.

The wings were smaller than on Sun. A dusky, murky gray color straight through, and very soft. Law's wings had never been so soft, but he supposed _that_ D had been older than the three he had now. This one had wings that were downy soft, even the longer primary feathers were much softer than expected. He smirked, working his fingers deep under the feathers to feel the skin below. This one was a long way off from fledging. "Stoooop." It whined helplessly, wing twitching. "Stoooop it, it feels wrong! Stop touching them like that-ah!" He silenced the protest with a less than gentle tug on the soft feathers.

"Lesson three, I am your Master, I can touch you however I please." A whimper answered him. "Good boy, Cloud. You're learning. What devil fruit did it eat?" He asked Machvise.

"Gum Gum no Mi."

"Ch. Useless. Still, better than none." He handed over Cloud, "Feed them, and put them away for now. Tell the others not to get too close, they're not to be trusted yet."

* * *

It had been four weeks since the warship had been due in with his grandsons. The silence on the denden mushi hadn't been worrying. Even Sengoku had agreed that with the war hero's grandsons on board they didn't want to be broadcasting to any pirates lurking around just what was on board. Not that Garp wasn't sure that a fully armed marine vessel wouldn't be able to protect his brats. Hell, the little shits were monstrously strong in their own right and more than capable of giving plenty of lower ranking pirate scum a good run for their money. For a week after the original arrival date he was sure everything was fine. They'd probably gotten caught in a storm or had to dispense some justice. Completely understandable. A week and a half, and maybe they'd run low on stocks with three D boys on board. It could happen... But even that sounded weak to him. After two weeks Sengoku had sent him out looking for the wayward vessel, grim faced. Garp had refused to acknowledge what his friend had tried to tell him. His boys were strong. They were guarded by a whole marine warship coming from the East Blue. They were _fine._ Sengoku was worried over nothing.

Even when they'd found the wreckage he'd told himself that Ace, Luffy, and Sabo were fine. That they'd hidden during the attack. Luffy might not have been that bright but he was good at hiding. Three boys on a big ship like this? Plenty of places to hide that were still well above the water. They were _fine._ They had to be. Even if all the marines were dead, rotting in the hot sun, his boys would be alright. What would a _pirate_ want with three stupid brats who didn't even _want_ to be on the ship, anyway?

He and his men had scoured what remained of the vessel, collecting their fallen for proper burial and in the off chance one of the men had been shielding the boys. Garp was relieved to see that wasn't the case. But his heart dropped as more time went by without hide nor hair of his three boys being found. Then there was a shout. Someone had found something. He went running. Garp didn't understand when his men tried to block his path, preventing him from entering the horribly slanted storage room with it's destroyed door. He yelled at them, threatened to have them court marshaled, anything to get to his babies. The tiny room stunk of blood, brine and rotting wood when he finally forced his way in wide-eyed. Garp looked around, panicked when he didn't see Ace and Sabo huddled in a corner around Luffy like he'd half expected. Instead, one of his men held out a straw hat, dripping wet with salt water. His eyes strayed to the hole in the corner of the room, the one the floor tilted to, and saw the broken remains of a table half in the hole pinning two other hats between it and what remained of the floor. He sunk to the floor in despair, knowing the fate of his boys now.

* * *

Law bit back a yelp of pain as he tugged another feather out by the root. He held up the yellow and back banded feather, turning it slowly in his hand as it caught in the slight breeze before sticking it in the gap under the roots of the tree he sat in front of with the rest of the feathers he'd pulled out from their moorings. Each one had hurt, but the burning pain felt _good_, _clean_ in some way. In days the missing feathers were replaced by new ones, anyway, so his original goal of plucking them all off was impossible. But just pulling out a few a day made him feel like he was doing something to pay back Cora-san for all he'd given up. He _deserved_ the little stabs of pain anyway. If he hadn't hid the fact he was a D…

"Law? Law, where are you?" The teen spun, wings flaring out to counterbalance him as Cora-san crashed through the underbrush. "There you are. I was getting worried about you." The man smiled, even as his eyes flitted about, never actually _looking_ at Law- at his wings. It made him feel low, lower than he already did.

"I'm _fine_." Law snapped, pulling his wings close to himself and willing them to recede. It wasn't that easy, though. Pulling feathers always made it harder to put his wings away, like the damn things protested the treatment by staying out longer. So he drew them in as tight as he could. He didn't like them, and it was obvious to him that Corazon was regretting not removing them as well. If Law had been _normal_, then neither of them would have been in this mess…

Law blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall, and suddenly Cora-san was there, crouched in front of him with a look of worry on his face. "Hey, what's wrong?" His hands reached out and hovered _so close_ but didn't actually touch the teen. Not that Law blamed him. He was disgusting, a monster. He didn't _deserve _it, even if he _wanted_ Cora-san to just pat him on the head, or touch him in some way like he used to. Corazon's face shifted from one of worry to one of determination, and Law found himself enveloped in a hug, wings and all. He let out a gasp in surprise. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I'll try and make it alright."

The teen couldn't help the tears that slid down his face. "You _can't_! I'm a _monster- _I shouldn't be _alive_-not when everyone else _died!"_

"You're not a monster!" The arms tightened around him, almost desperately.

"Liar! You- you won't even _look_ at me! I'm horrible!"

He found himself being held at arm's length, Cora-san staring right into his eyes, face serious. "You're just a kid, Law. You're _not_ horrible, you're special. I'm just trying to give you the space you need to realize that…"

Law didn't hear him, "Cut them off, _please_\- I can't… you don't even look at me anymore and it _hurts_ but every time I _try-_"

"Law. Trafalgar!" Corazon shook him slightly, causing his wings to flap out in surprise as he stared at the man in a daze. "What did you do?" the former pirate asked worriedly, eyes scanning the boy's whole body carefully in a way he had been careful not to do while his ward was awake since they'd arrived. When his gaze spotted the missing feathers - gaping holes to his eyes - he frowned, realizing what he'd been doing. "_Why_?" He asked, fingers reaching out to brush lightly against the damaged wings. The boy shuddered and pressed against him, a broken sob escaping his lips.

"It _hurts_, Cora-san." Came the sobbing reply, and Corazon stopped touching the wings instantly. Instead of the child calming down, Law whimpered into his shirt, once more tense and shaking. "Just _cut them off_!" He choked out, unable to express properly how good it felt to have Cora-san hold him again - touch his hideous wings - after so long with no contact. If having them cut off was the price he had to pay for things to go back to the way they were, he'd gladly do it a thousand times over.

Carefully at first, then more confidently Corazon ran his much larger hands down the lengths of the wings. The man sighed, "I wasn't trying to hurt you; just give you space. I'm sorry."

* * *

Sabo held Luffy as close as he dared, keeping a close eye on where their _master_ sat on his chair. The man had an unpredictable temper and sometimes seeing the three of them attempting to offer comfort to one another or care for each other's feathers was enough to earn punishment. It made him so angry, being unable to stop the man when he'd yanked out the feathers at the tips of Ace's wings. Worse still was when he'd done it _again_ the next week when the feathers grew back. Ace had been in a daze for hours afterwards, wings shuddering. Even now, a day later, they drooped low behind the bench they were forced to sit on all day like a perch.

What frightened him and Ace the most was Luffy. Their little brother was starting to grow in colored feathers - red ones here and there mixed in with the gray - and neither were sure what the man called Doflamingo was going to do about that. To think that before all _this_ the three of them had been looking forward to seeing what color his wings would be. Someone entered the room, causing all three boys to flinch, wings rustling uneasily at the sight of one of the many pirates working under Doflamingo. This time it was just the woman with the creepy glasses, but even still Sabo glared at her, warning her with his eyes to say the hell away from his brothers. He was sick of being tormented by all of them. She just smirked at him before continuing over to Doflamingo and presenting him with a small chest.

"Young Master, this might interest you."

"Oh?" The tall man put down whatever it was he'd been reading and opened the box, a wicked grin blooming across his face at the contents. "Which is it?"

"The Mera Mera no Mi."

"Excellent." When Doflamingo looked up at the three of them, Sabo thought maybe he was trying to shield the wrong brother. The way their _master_ was looking at Ace made his feathers stand straight up. Ace snarled when he was grabbed, wings flapping futilely as he was carried by his arm towards _that chair_. He knew better than to protest at this point, they all did. At best it fell on deaf ears; at worse, it encouraged Doflamingo to hurt them more. Sabo could only watch, clutching Luffy to his chest as the man shoved what could only be a devil fruit at Ace. "Eat."

Ace turned his head away.

The man's grin became a little sharper. "Eat it, Sun."

"No." Ace growled out, wings flaring slightly even as his eyes widened in fear.

When Sabo saw the vein in Doflamingo's forehead twitch, he quickly shoved Luffy's head against his chest, blocking the sight of the man grabbing a delicate wing and wrenching it the wrong way. Ace opened his mouth in a wordless shriek but before any sound could escape, that horrible fruit was shoved into his mouth. "Eat. It." The look on Doflamingo's face was murderous now. Sabo shivered as he watched his brother choke down the fruit he knew tasted nasty. When he was done, he was dropped.

In seconds Ace became a burning patch on the ground. "ACE!" Sabo shouted.

"Interesting." Doflamingo commented, apparently unconcerned by this. Sabo wanted nothing more than to get down from their stupid perch and go to his brother. He cursed the chain that kept him in place. It felt like an eternity but was only seconds before the fire went out. He stared in shock as Ace moved weakly, kicking uselessly at the woman who placed another cuff on his leg, earning a whimper. "Very good, pet. You'll learn how to control it."

"A-Ace?" Luffy whimpered, peaking out from Sabo's chest. Sabo tensed as Doflamingo's eyes landed on them, and he tightened his arms around Luffy, trying to hide him.

It didn't work. The man carried Ace by one of his wings, the very one he'd wretched so badly earlier, before dumping him on the cold stone bench and latching his chain to the wall again before turning his attention to them. Even knowing it was futile, Sabo tried to hold onto Luffy only to have him ripped from his arms. He _knew_ what was coming, and, judging by Ace's weak attempts to reach out for Luffy, he did too.

Doflamingo didn't say a word the whole time. In a way, it made it much worse since there was nothing to drown out the sounds of Luffy's screams as the man pulled out feathers by the handful from both wings. Whole clumps from the bottom halves, gone, leaving bleeding wounds where the quills ripped against the delicate skin. By the end, Luffy was nearly silent, the half-noises somehow worse than the screams. Still, Doflamingo was silent as he dumped the boy on the perch, not caring as Luffy almost slid right off. If Sabo and Ace hadn't been ready to grab him, he would have landed on the floor. Hugging his brothers close, Sabo promised himself that he'd find some way to get them out of this.

* * *

"Hard to port! Prepare the cannons but don't fire!" Shanks shouted out.

"Are you sure of that, Captain?" Roo called out, eyeing the fast approaching marine vessel. His concern was understandable, it was _Garp's_ ship. There had been a time when the crazy marine would have just given chase for a while and then fallen back, the whole thing more of an elaborate game than anything else. But something had changed recently, and Garp had been going after any pirate that crossed his path with the tenacity of a bulldog. The fact the man had been trailing the Red Force for the last day testified to that.

Shanks eyed the fast approaching vessel, taking in the still cannon ports. "Aye. Don't fire. The old dog hasn't made an aggressive move on us yet. Let's not antagonize him, Roo."

"Coming up on a sandbar, Shanks." Benn pointed out, "He might be trying to ground us first."

"Not his style."

"If you say so, Captain."

Ten minutes later he came to regret those words when Garp's vessel rammed them, driving them up onto the very sandbar Benn had warned him about. A quick glance showed his first mate was smirking as he prepared his flint lock. "Not a word."

"Didn't say a thing."

"Sure you didn't." He mock pouted. "Prepare to be boarded!"

"Aye!" His crew shouted in reply, brandishing weapons as they prepared for a full on marine invasion on their ship.

They stood at the ready, tense and waiting as the marines remained on their ship, equally tense but not attacking. It had to be the oddest standoff Akagami had ever been a part of. Even odder was when the first one to risk boarding his vessel was a bare slip of a boy. Everyone instinctively lowered their weapons at the sight of the poor brat's shaking. Shanks thought his glasses were going to shake right off. He could understand it, they were scary Pirates…. and there was Garp. Weapons went back up and the boy cowered behind the large, glowering man.

"Garp, what the hell are you doing on my ship?"

The man said nothing in reply, just stood there glowering at him for a moment.

Shanks lowered his sword. "If you're not here to fight would you kindly get the fuck off the Red Force?"

"I tried to tell myself that if he hadn't met you-" The man began, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a battered straw hat.

"Why do you have that?" Shanks' body went cold. "Where's Luffy?!"

Garp ignored him, fingering the red band, "It's not true though, is it? He was… special. So special. I should have - it was those _damn pirates_! Scum."

"HEY!" Shanks snapped, "I _am_ a pirate!"

Benn put a hand in front of him, preventing him from attacking the obviously upset marine. Not that Shanks was really _going_ to. He thought of it, though. Benn spoke up once he was sure Shanks wasn't going to attack. "Which pirate scum?"

"_Doflamingo_." The word was spat out like a curse. "And I can't _touch_ him-! He- and I can't even avenge-!" Garp actually started to cry. Every single one of the pirates on the Red Force shifted uncomfortably. Garp was not the type to cry. Something was very, very wrong.

Shanks sheathed his sword before cautiously approaching the marine. "What happened, Garp?"

Instead of a direct answer he was handed his old hat, Garp still too busy crying to form words. He took it, confusion and worry growing as he forcefully pushed down the growing sense of dread. He shared a look with Benn.

"Sir?" A voice squeaked out from behind Garp. A glance had the boy flinching back slightly before he squared his shoulders and risked peaking out again.

"And who are you, little one?"

"Coby, Sir." The boy stood a little taller as Shanks knelt down to his level.

"Can you tell me what's going on here, Coby?"

"Garp-san wanted to return that to you…" Coby looked down, "I joined him after… but the crew says it was horrible, Sir."

That sickening feeling of dread grew. "What was?"

"The ship that was carrying his grandsons was attacked on it's way to Marineford by Do-Do-Doflamingo." The boy swallowed, looking at the floor. "There were no survivors."

Shanks looked down at the hat in his hands, feeling tears prick at his eyes. His Anchor- gone. Looking at Garp, he could easily see how destroyed the man was. Even if he hadn't agreed with Garp, it was obvious the man had wanted nothing but to protect the little idiot. It was _obvious_ who was to blame. _Doflamingo_. "I'll _kill_ him." He swore, hearing his crew mutter their agreements. Luffy had been a little ball of sunshine, and for that man to have snuffed him out like that… He placed the hat on his head, a reminder to himself of the broken promise and _who_ had broken it as he made his new promise. "I won't rest until he's avenged, Garp. I swear it."

The marine nodded before turning and leaving, the small boy following in his wake.

* * *

Ace growled wordlessly at the man who was balanced on a ladder, unhooking their chains from a wall. He'd _hoped_ with their so-called master away for God knew however long they'd be left in peace but apparently that was too much to ask for. Worriedly he glanced down at Luffy lying limp in their little stone bed, head in Sabo's lap while his other brother ran a hand through his damp hair. He'd barely said more than a few sentences since that bastard had gone to town on his wings. Sabo said it was shock - that he'd be alright - but he wasn't getting better. Ace was scared that his little brother was going to die and these bastards were fucking _moving_ them!

"GO AWAY!" He snapped out when the man yanked roughly on the chains connected to his manacles.

"Tsk. Stubborn little slave, aren't you?" the man grumbled back, adjusting his grip on the ladder and reaching down to where another stood, taking the pole he was handed. Ace's wings instinctively mantled. "Yeah, you know what this is, don't you, you little shit?" The pole's tip danced with sparks. "Move it, Sun."

"NO!" He hunkered down lower, trying to shield his brothers. Almost instantly his back arched and he had to bite back a howl of pain.

"I don't have time for your disobedient shit! The Young Master wants you sent to Dresserosa, and you're holding up departure!"

"I. Don't. CARE!" Ace growled out before the pole tip touched him again, this time right in the neck. The next thing he knew he was being hauled out of the stone nest none too gently and tossed down to the man waiting below like a sack of grain.

"No! No, no, PLEASE! You can't- Luffy's sick-!" Sabo's shouts caused Ace to whine, still unable to move properly.

"His name ain't _Luffy_ no more, you shit. Now come on out of there! Your master wants you three. Don't make me zap you, too, Sky."

"No-don't! Please! I'm coming down- just don't hurt L- I mean Cloud. Please, he's sick."

Ace still could barely move when he saw the man carry his youngest brother down with much more care than he'd ever expected. It frightened him how worried the man looked as he held the limp form of his brother, opting to carry him to the ship as Sabo helped Ace along. He was so scared for Luffy. Sea voyages when you were sick could kill a person. He shared a look with Sabo.

"We'll get out of this, Ace. I promise." The blond swore, a glint in his eyes. "I won't let anything happen to Luffy or you, I swear." Tentatively Ace nodded. He believed his brother.


	5. Chapter 5

Corazon wasn't exactly sure why he felt the need to do a perimeter check around the island. They'd been here for months and he had yet to even spy a ship on the horizon. Logically he knew they were safe here. Still, it didn't stop him from doing a quick check around the island every three days or so. If nothing else it allowed the pirate to clear his head a bit. Coming to a cove that was a bit more difficult to reach he paused, taking in the sights. It really was beautiful, with the white sand surrounded by large rocks on both sides, waves gently crashing against them. "I wonder if Law knows this is here?" He mused, watching the white foam of the sea get pushed up onto the beach as the waves pulled a small boat ever closer to the rocks.

He blinked, thinking he was seeing things. It was still there. A small boat, maybe a life-boat, was being shoved dangerously close to the rocks. Tensing, he melted back into the underbrush before circling around to get closer to the rocks. The boat had appeared empty when he'd been closer to the beach, but from here he could see three people sprawled in the belly of the boat. None of them were moving, and he thought them dead until the little vessel finally hit one of the rocks and threatened to tip over.

Three heads popped up, and he saw they were children. His confusion grew. "Wha-?!"

"Shit! Rock!" One of the dark haired kids attempted to push against the rock with no luck. "Where the hell did a rock come from?!"

"Land, you idiot! We found land!" Another, a blond jumped out and started trying to tow the boat towards the beach even as the waves threatened to dash him against the rocks.

"I can help-"

The blond choked on water, it still do deep for him, "No, stay in the boat! You guys can't swim. Just try to push us away from the rocks."

"Sabo…" One of them warned even as they both started pushing with all their might. "I think the boat broke. We're taking on water!"

"Shit shit shit…!"

Cora took a step forward, unwilling to let _children_ drown, even if he didn't know how the hell they got there in the first place. Just as he was about to break cover the one in the water managed to touch the bottom, his pulling becoming more steady. The kid seemed awfully strong as he dragged the damaged boat up the beach. When it was barely in the water the other two jumped out and helped, clothes already soaked from the hole that water continued to rush out of as they pulled it out of the surf. They came stumbling almost to the tree line, within feet of Corazon. The man froze, not wanting to startle them as they flopped bonelessly on the ground. So close he could see the sunburn on their arms and faces. Their clothes were tattered and torn, more rags than anything. He wondered what had happened, right up until he saw the heavy manacles on each boy's left leg. _Slaves_… his stomach dropped as he pushed himself further into the underbrush, horrified.

"Do you think we're safe?" the smallest asked.

"Maybe. I hope so. How long do you think we were in that thing anyway?"  
The blond shrugged, "A few days? A week at most. I'm not sure. At any rate, if _we_ don't know where we are, how the hell is that freak supposed to find us?"

"How did he know about us in the first place?" The dark haired one shot back.

The youngest sniffed, "I miss Jiji…" Only for the two others to cover him in a group hug. Corazon bit his lip, melting back into the woods to give them some privacy. His first reaction was to go to them, but only a fool would think that would be welcome right now. Instead, he was going to give them time. A few days to recover and get their feet under them while he and Law both made sure they had enough food and fresh water. Then he'd decide what to do with the three new inhabitants of their little island. As much as he was at lothe to leave the safety it had provided, if necessary he'd take the three to the nearest inhabited island. But first, he'd give them time to recover.

* * *

Law moved silently, moving to another branch that was closer to the three strangers. They were young- younger than he was. He, himself, hadn't seen them arrive, but Cora-san had. He'd said they'd arrived on a small boat that was barely more than a raft it had looked so bad. Looking around the small beach, he could just make out the boat, keel-side up with a large hole in it. He wondered if the three of them were planning on using it for shelter. If they were, it was a poor choice being too close to the water's edge still. Not to mention the hole. He turned his attention back to the three of them. Two were definitely older, a blond and one with dark hair. They seemed to be arguing about something. The third was younger. He was sitting a little ways away, watching the argument. From where Law was he still couldn't make out the words, but the next tree branch that could hold his weight was at least a hundred feet away. He'd either have to climb down and then go from there or risk a glide. Hopefully they wouldn't see him, since Cora-san had told him to stay out of sight. Slowly he relaxed, allowing his wings to emerge from his back and rolling his shoulders to settle the tension between them with a pop before stilling. So far no one had noticed. He tried two soft flaps, gauging how much lift he would need. It would be easier if he could just _fly_ but he still hadn't quite figured that out.

He made sure to wait till both of the two arguing were now shouting before risking three hard flaps as he shoved off. The branches shook and the one he landed on creaked and squeaked as he folded his wings, hiding the bright yellow bands on them as best he could. He stilled, waiting to see if anyone noticed. Lucky for him the two were still yelling, though the youngest had looked into the trees.

"I think we should try to _fix_ the boat!"

The blond sighed, "What good would that do us, Ace? We don't even know where we _are_ in the first place! It was lucky we even _found_ land and you want us to just go off again?"

"We can't stay here! What if he's looking for us-"

"I bet he is." The youngest said, turning his attention back to the argument. Law let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "You kind of burned one of his ships up."

"See? Even _Luffy_ knows it's not smart to stay here!"  
"HEY! I never said that! Sabo, I don't wanna leave! I like it here, and we haven't even gotten to _explore_ yet!"  
"I'm not sure if exploring is such a good idea, Luffy." The blond, Sabo or something, smiled at the younger before turning his attention back to the boat.

"I'm telling you I can fix it."  
"That's not the issue, Ace. And I'm not saying we _stay_ here. Not forever. Just for a bit." Sabo waved a hand, broadly gesturing to the youngest, Luffy. "Hear me out before you get angry. We're _exhausted_, _hungry_ and I don't know about you, but I don't think Luffy here is in any shape to be drifting around. We spent too long on that damn boat without food or water, Ace. And before that what we were given was _worse_ than the stuff in Gray Terminal. I'm just saying we need to recover our strength before we leave."

Ace looked annoyed. He turned away and went over to the boat before dragging it further from the water. "Fine. You _might_ be right. But I don't like it here."

"At least there are woods. We can forage for food, and fish. Nothing we don't know how to do. Why don't Luffy and I go look for some leaves and shit to turn the boat into a proper shelter while you look for food?"

"Fine. Luffy, stay close to the cove."

The youngest pouted, "but I want to go exploring!"

"We can do that tomorrow. First we need to make a new fort, right?" Sabo pointed out, smiling slightly. "Don't go wandering off, okay?"

Law had heard enough. He didn't want to get caught spying in the first place, so he carefully launched from the tree, gliding away. He had to tell Corazon that the new people on the island were planning on staying. That rose the question of whether the two of them should move their own camp further away to stay hidden. Knowing Cora-san he had a feeling the older man was going to want to take them in. Trafalgar didn't like that idea. They had no right to be here, and he didn't trust them. Plus they seemed to be running from something. What if they brought their trouble to the island?

It didn't take him long to return to the small camp that he shared with Cora-san. As he expected, Cora-san was putting together what could only be a food package for the three intruders. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." His friend and teacher froze, a slightly guilty look on his face. "If you leave that, they'll know they are not alone here."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"Yes it is. They need to leave."

Cora-san stood, walking over to him and placed a warm hand on Law's hat. "There's nothing to worry about. I promise you I'll protect you."

"But who'll protect _you_ from them? I don't trust it; there should be no way to just _accidentally_ end up on this island."

"They're not a threat, Law. They're just boys." Cora's face became drawn, haunted, "Victims, like you."

* * *

Luffy had managed to wake up before Ace and Sabo for a change. For a short time, he sat there, looking down at his brothers as they slept soundly and debated waking them up. He was hungry, and neither of the other two liked it when he wandered off alone. But Sabo had spent a long time trying to fish last night, and Ace had done most of the work setting up their shelter. Neither would let Luffy help much, instead having him tend the fire. He knew it was because they were worried about him even if Ace had said it was because he didn't want Luffy to mess up. It wasn't because he was weak, either. He glared at the cuff on his leg, the cuts around his ankle from his repeated tries to get it off. _That_ was the reason his brothers were being so protective. The stupid Mingo-man was a lot stronger and scarier than Blue Jam had been. Luffy wasn't ashamed to admit he'd been really scared when they'd been separated and tossed into small cages. He hadn't seen his brothers in _days_, and when they _were_ together he'd been so scared that the man was going to _kill_ his brothers. He knew he shouldn't have cried, but it was hard to be brave when someone was threatening his family and he couldn't stop them.

Ace muttered something in his sleep and rolled over, arm wrapping around Sabo as he burrowed closer. Luffy smiled at the sight of them, glad they were still together. He decided to let them sleep. This morning _he_ would be the one taking care of them by getting food. There should have been berries and such in the woods, so he wouldn't even have to go near the ocean. With that thought in mind the eight-year-old shuffled out of the lean-to that Ace had hastily put together and headed into the forest.

To a boy who'd seen very little of the world, the forest was huge and exciting. The trees where only a little bit like the ones he was used to seeing back home, and unlike the mountain forest of the Goa kingdom, there were no animals making background noises. Luffy wasn't deterred, though. If he had too, he'd gather smaller things for his brothers to eat. Frogs, snakes and large bugs weren't their _favorite_ food, but all three had resorted to snacking on such things before if a hunt had gone badly - or in one memorable case when the three of them had given a surprised Makino their kill for her birthday. Walking through the thick undergrowth for a while Luffy frowned. He hadn't come across any kinds of animals at all. His face scrunched up in thought as he came to a stop, wondering what to do. As he stood there, he realized he'd been so distracted, he'd almost walked right off a ledge into what looked like a pool of water. Spanning the gap was a fallen tree, making a natural bridge for the boy to cross. He didn't even hesitate, nor did he hesitate to pick up the brightly speckled slug on the tree and try to eat it.

* * *

There was a loud crack sound and a shout of surprise off a ways from where he was. Cora shook his head, not surprised. He had wondered how long it would be before the three newcomers started to explore their island. The hard part was going to be staying out of their way and keeping an eye on them at the same time. It would be easier if he could just get Law to agree to let him take them in. He understood where the teen was coming from, however. He hadn't had much positive experience with others, and it was only natural Law would be wary about strangers even if they were kids like himself.

"Help! Ace! Sabo!" Corazon froze at the sound, head snapping around to the direction the cry had come from. "_Help!_ I'm stuck!" It was the youngest of the newcomers, he was sure of it.

Pirate though he may have been, he couldn't ignore the obvious panic in that shrill cry for help. Without even thinking he took off, bouncing off of trees and tripping over his own feet in his rush as he followed the cries. Soon he was at the waterfall he himself liked to bathe at. A quick glance told Corazon that the crack he'd heard had most likely been the sound of the tree they'd used as a ladder breaking as now only half of the monstrous plant was still there. The other half he assumed had been washed away. Worriedly he looked down, afraid he was going to see the brat maimed or pinned beneath the branches. The child had somehow managed to get himself trapped at the bottom of the small waterfall alright, but he didn't seem hurt. He was huddled on the tiny strip of dry gravel and rocks, desperately trying to reach for the broken tree as the water soaked him.

"Help!"

Cora tested to make sure what was left of the tree wasn't about to go crashing down at the slightest touch. With his luck it was a possibility and he didn't want to crush the child. Once he was sure it would hold his weight he cautiously stepped onto it and into the boy's line of sight. "Are you alright?"

Dark eyes stared up at him, wide and full of fear as the poor thing hunched in on himself for a moment. Cora was sure to keep what he hoped was a friendly look on his face as he waited. "Who- who are you?! Where're my brothers?!"

"It's alright, I'm sure they're fine. I'm Corazon. I heard your shout."

"Stay back!"

He held up a hand placatingly, "I'm not going to hurt you. Promise. I just want to help."

The boy was shivering now, probably because of the water. He glared at Corazon. "I'm Luffy. I don't trust you! I bet you're a bandit!"

"No, no I'm not. I swear."

"Oh." Some of the suspicion faded, "Marine? But you don't have one of those stupid hats…"

Corazon wished he could agree, just this once. If only to put the Luffy's mind at ease while he rescued him. But if the kid had been a slave, he might not see Marines the same way as most civilians did. Trying to seem harmless wasn't easy when you were as tall and quite frankly as intimidating as he was, but he tried. "No, I'm not. I'm a pirate, but don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."

"A pirate?" Luffy repeated before beaming brightly at him, "Really? I wanna be a pirate, too, Mr. Smiley face." That was not the reaction he'd expected. Nor had he expected the boy to react by reaching out eagerly as he tried to reach the blond. "Can you help? I broke the tree."

He offered a sardonic grin as he reached down, "I can see that. How'd you manage that one, Luffy was it?"

"I punched it." The boy grinned, fingers brushing his own. Cora stretched a little more and was able to snag Luffy's hand. "Because there was an icky slug on it."

He smiled at the boy as he hefted him up. "I see. Well, next time be a bit more careful, huh?"

"Ok!"

"Let's go look for your friends now. I'm sure they're worried about you." He said as he gently placed the child on the ground. It was a relief to see Luffy wasn't hurt.

"They're not my friends, they're my brothers!" The boy grinned even wider at him, obviously very happy about this.

"Is that so? Well, all the more reason to get back to them, right?"

"Right!"

A weight collided with his back, and Corazon almost tumbled forward, turning slightly as he did.

The dark haired youth stood before him, holding a broken piece of shell like a knife as he pushed Luffy behind him. "Stay back! Stay away from my little brother, you freak!"

"I'm not going to hurt him. I just wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Liar! I saw that mark on your shirt! You work for _him_!"

Corazon blinked in confusion before glancing at his shirt. It wasn't anything fancy, just one of his old shirts, a gray button up with the jolly roger he and Law had changed on the back. It had started out as his brother's flag before the two of them had added to it… His heart lurched as what the boy was saying hit him. He could see it in the way Luffy was now looking at him with fear from behind his brothers. They _knew_ Doflamingo's mark, which meant they'd have had to had run into it. Heart-sick, his eyes fell onto the thick manacle on the dark haired boy's leg as he stood defiantly before him. It didn't look like much at a distance, being gun-metal gray like most shackles. This close, though, he could tell it wasn't made out of metal but stone, with a chain fused into the rock. He could just make out half the circle that was most definitely Doflamingo's Jolly Roger carved into the rock. His big brother - ruining everything he touched. It was sickening. "No, no it's not what you think!"

The shell flashed out, leaving a thin cut on his hand. "We won't go back! I won't let you take us!" He couldn't react fast enough as the youth darted forward, murder in his eyes.

He didn't have to, though. Law was there, slapping the shank out of the younger boy's hand as his wings flared in warning. The smaller boy leapt back, a snarl on his face as Law mantled, looking as threatening as Corazon had ever seen him. "Don't you _dare_ hurt Cora-san!"

"Ace-"

Gray eyes went cold. "Sabo, take Luffy and run. Get off the island."

"We won't leave you, you idiot!"

"I'll be right behind you-"

"No, I won't let them separate us." Sabo growled, coming even with Ace. "If you want us, you're gonna have to _kill_ us! We're not going back!"

"We don't want you here in the first place!" Law snapped, taking a threatening step forward. Corazon didn't know who was more shocked out of the two of them when orange flecked wings blocked their view of the youngest. It wasn't as impressive a wingspan as Law's, but the dark haired child was younger than he was by a few years at least. Still, there was no mistaking the wings of a D, or the look of fatalistic determination as both boys tried to make themselves seem as large as possible.

"You're a D…" Corazon choked out.

"Ace-Sabo- I'm scared…."

"Like you didn't know that. Just 'cause Luffy's stupid doesn't mean _we're_ going to fall for that nice guy act." Sabo growled, taking a reluctant step back to comfort the smallest, Corazon assumed.

"It'll be alright, Lu." Ace muttered, shifting his wing slightly to allow his brother easier access.

Law snorted, flaring his larger wings dramatically. "You two honestly think you could take us? You're _grounded_ with those sorry excuses for wings. If you even knew how to flap, that is, which I doubt. Not if you were stupid enough to attack Cora-san."

Corazon knew Law's words about them being grounded had been for his benefit. While the boy was distracted with Law, he looked closely at the wings and was sickened by what his brother had done. At first, he'd expected the lack of primary flight feathers to be due to his age, but it was obvious Doflamingo had removed them. He hadn't just clipped them, which would have been traumatic enough to be sure. Judging by the patches of dried blood on the feathers, he'd yanked them out by the quill. It was no wonder they were terrified of going back; of Corazon. He laid a hand on his ward's shoulder, causing the youth to look up at him. When he had Law's attention his shook his head slightly, and Law reluctantly lowered his wings. He might not like the strangers, but he was smart enough to have an idea of what they'd been through and realize like Corazon had that it was indirectly their fault. His dear older brother was going after adolescent Ds.

Cora crouched, trying again to seem less threatening. In response Ace allowed his feathers to settle, but still refused to lower his wings. He couldn't blame the kid, even as he watched the left wing shake slightly with strain. He felt Law's attention shift to the limb as he spoke. "I'm nothing like Doflamingo, even if he _is_ my older brother." Twin growls answered him, one from the blond, he assumed. He expected that, but he wanted to be honest. "I swear to you, I'm not going to bring you back to him…."

The left wing finally gave under the strain of holding itself up and collapsed, revealing nothing behind Ace. The preteen gave him a smug, dark smirk. "Of course you won't bring my brothers back to him. You'd have to catch them first."

* * *

Law was off like a flash after the two intruders to their island. He still didn't _like_ them being there, but he understood the fear they were feeling, even if they were afraid of the wrong man right now. It was a good thing that he was more familiar with the island, because the blond - Sabo was it? - was _fast_, even hampered by having to carry the smaller boy. At least the little one had the sense to keep his wings tightly tucked against his body…. Law frowned, realizing that Sabo didn't actually _have_ wings. He felt the old surge of jealousy at the one who got to live a normal life and sped up, catching the back of the younger boy's shirt. Sabo's momentum kept him going for a few more feet, ripping the shirt before he tumbled forward, dropping his little brother.

Law stood there in shock, holding the ripped shirt as the blond spun to face him, his face twisted in anger and fear. "Luffy, keep running!"

"But-"

"NOW!"

He could just make out the smaller boy go crashing through the trees, but he continued to stare at the blond. "You're…."

"What's the matter, never seen a cut-wing D before?" The blond growled, throwing himself at Law.

"I don't want to fight!" He tried, grappling with the smaller boy. He was incredibly strong, more so as he was driven by desperation. When it became obvious he wasn't going to listen, Law snagged one of his fists, twirling around the boy in a flurry of feathers to pin it up between his shoulderblades. Right in the patch of blue feathers….Sabo snarled and screamed in rage, but was unable to throw Law off him as the older boy pushed him to the ground. Just in time, too, as Cora-san arrived holding the other boy, still struggling.

"Where's Lu?" Was the first words out of Ace's mouth.

"Got away." Came the reply. It seemed like the fight went out of both of them at those words.

Cora-san had that look on his face, the one that promised trouble for someone. Law followed his gaze and saw it was on the boy under him. Quickly he got off Sabo allowing the other to sit up and glare balefully at him. "Did _Doflamingo_ do that to you?"

Sabo snorted, "Hell no. My _parents_ did. Your _brother_ was most disappointed."

"Didn't you know? He wants Ds who can _fly_. His own personal army or some shit." Ace growled, wrenching himself free. "But we'll _never_ break! We're free, dammit! And you won't ever catch Luffy, either."

Law sighed, rubbing his head as he felt a migraine coming on and let his wings recede. "Cora-san doesn't work for Doflamingo. He saved me from him, so why would he bring you back to him?"

Both looked at him like he'd grown another head. After a moment Ace leveled his glare at Corazon. "So you _aren't _here to capture us?"

Cora-son let out a small laugh, "We were actually hiding here first. I swear I won't let you go back to him, not if I can help it."

"You're not going to hurt Luffy either, right?" Sabo asked, looking honestly worried.

"Well, first we have to find him, but no… I won't hurt your little brother."

"He's in the bushes behind you." Ace replied, looking the other way.

Law snorted, "Like anyone would be that stupid and not run when they -" He trailed off, noticing he was being watched by dark brown eyes peering at him from the bushes. "Your brother is an idiot."

"We know." Sabo informed them, holding out his arms for the little one to rush into in a flurry of half flaps that managed to knock Law's hat askew.

He glared at the child at first, only for it to fade when he took in the large patches of missing feathers and the way those left were puffed. His whole body was shivering, and Law was willing to bet he had a fever. Out of the three of them, it was obvious Luffy had suffered the most at Doflamingo's hands, though all were thin and Ace's wing definitely had either a strain or a pull. Luffy's wings looked like the man had just ripped chunks of feathers out for no reason. He watched on with a clinical eye as Sabo gently held his brother close, drawing those damaged wings in and wrapping his arms around him. Luffy barely flinched; a true sign of trust. Law sighed in a mixture of annoyance and defeat.  
"We have a camp set up not far from here. There's food, if you're hungry." He said, not looking at them. He still felt everyone's eyes on him, and _knew_ Cora-san was smiling at him. He told himself he didn't care. It wasn't like he was so heartless he could leave them out here like _this_!

* * *

"So, how did you manage to get away?" Corazon asked as he struggled to get the fire going. He thought that Ace was rolling his eyes at his attempt.

Luffy smiled at him from the safety of his older brother's arms, "Ace blew up the ship we were on."

Corazon stopped what he was doing and looked at the two. "Huh?"

"What? It wasn't that hard once I had that stupid seastone off."

"Yeah, getting them to lower their guard enough while you and Lu weren't wearing _those_ manacles was a real bitch." Sabo agreed, "Guess it was _almost_ a good thing Luffy got sick during the trip even if I still wanna kill the bastard for ripping out his feathers like that!"

"MMM! That really hurt! And I didn't like throwing up all the time. It made me feel worse and it was stinky and slimy." Luffy pouted.

Ace ruffled his hair, "Well of course it was stinky. That's why they kept bathing us." He explained, "And Luffy was so weak already that the water _and_ the seastone at the same time just made him worse, so they took his maniacal off. And then my genius of a brother here-"

"You flatterer."

"Told them _I_ was getting sick, too, so they took mine off. Just had to put up with three baths, acting all sickly during the day which wasn't that hard and then…."

All three boys grinned. "BOOM!" they said.

"So you two are devil fruit eaters?" Corazon asked and almost regretted it the way they tensed up. He smiled, "So am I. I ate a fruit that lets me create a barrier of silence. It's how Law and I got away."

The tension was still there, but Ace nodded, "Yeah. Lu ate one back _before_. He's made out of rubber now. It's kinda lame." His soft smile said otherwise, but his little brother couldn't see that.

"HEY!"

"He just needs practice." Sabo comforted,. "So do you."

"Yeah. That _bastard_ forced me to eat one. I'm fire now, I guess. It's a lot harder to control than I thought. But I'm getting better." He pointed at the sticks Corazon had been trying to light and instantly a fire was going. "Ships are _very_ flammable… It burned faster than I thought it would. Sabo made sure we got away before it was too late. He found a lifeboat and got us on it."  
"And Luffy made sure we _stayed_ in it when the sea got choppy. It was a group effort." Sabo finished the tale.

* * *

Law sat behind a tree as he watched the three new additions to his island home. The last few days the three of them had been going off on their own only coming back at dinner where they sat as a unit and glared at both him and Cora-san while eating. They even slept in a pile. Cora-san thought it was cute, but he didn't see what Law saw right now. Ace's wing was still stiff, suffering from a strain or a pull. Luffy was pale, sickly looking. His wings, which were being carefully combed through by his brothers, were obviously hot and sore to the touch with the way he whimpered and whined. In short, he was sick, suffering from an infection that the paste Law had prepared should draw out and treat. The problem was getting the three to trust him enough to help.

He looked again at the large shell full of gray-green paste. They weren't going to let him just walk up and put it on the littlest. No, Ace and Sabo were _very_ protective. With a frown he called out his own wings and cautiously tugged a few feathers out of their moorings before burying them in the debris under the shrubs. Cora-san would be worried, but if it would help it was worth the little bit of pain. Law backed up a ways and made sure to make a lot of noise as he came out from the undergrowth, cursing about his missing feathers.

"What are you doing here?" Ace growled out, wings flaring as he caught sight of Law.

"Looking for a banana leaf to put _this_ on my wing." He replied, returning the glare with a lazy look as he held out the shell and walked across the clearing to a short banana tree and yanking off a leaf. He sat, curling his wing around as he placed the shell in his lap.

Sabo watched closely, "What _is_ that?"

"Medicine. I'm a doctor."

"Are not."

Law shrugged, "Am to. My parents were doctors, and I studied with…. I studied." He finished.

Sabo nodded tightly in reply, eyes haunted. "What's the medicine for?"

"My wing." He pointed to the pale yellow and black wing, patches darker in areas. He supposed the yellow was going to be really bright when he reached his final colors. "I was working them and a couple feathers got stuck in a branch. Ripped right out. This'll help prevent any infection from getting worse. Infections can be bad on an island like this." He commented, slathering on the paste before wrapping the leaf around the tip. "And the leaf holds it in place. Stuff is easy enough to make, but it doesn't keep well and I can't make a little… so unless Cora-san lights himself on fire again this'll go to waste."

Sabo bit his lip, looking at the shell and then at Luffy, "Would it work on an infection already there?"

"Yes."

"Don't! You can't trust him, Sabo." Ace hissed.

"He's not getting any better, Ace!"

"Why are you two fighting? What are we talking about?" Luffy asked, eyes glazed as he glanced around. "Oh, hi Law…"

The moment stretched before Ace stood up and stalked over to him. Law wordlessly handed over the shell, not pushing his luck. He still sat and watched as both boys carefully applied the paste to the horrible wounds. While they were working he grabbed two leaves and ripped them into strips. He slowly approached and handed them the leaves, earning a less hostile look as they were taken and wrapped around the wounds. This close he could see the torn skin. It would heal, but they'd have to be careful about the infection. At that moment he couldn't have hated Doflamingo more. Cautiously he reached out and ran a hand through Luffy's hair, smiling slightly as the boy leaned into it.

"Thanks." Ace said, refusing to look at him as he finished wrapping the wings.

"Yeah. Thanks." Sabo glanced at him, "Could you-maybe make this again tomorrow? For Luffy?"

"Yes, sure. No problem."

"And maybe look at Ace's wing?"

"Hey!"

"He's a doctor!"

"...Fine. Tomorrow. After we take care of Luffy." Ace glared at him half heartedly, "No funny business."

"I swear."


	6. Chapter 6

Cora was relieved that the four boys were finally getting along. It had been a rough start for the first couple of months, with the camps so clearly divided between _us _and_ them_ with Ace, Luffy and Sabo on one and he and Law on the other. Now, though... Now it was better. The distrust was still in Ace's eyes when the brat thought Corazon wasn't looking, but he could understand that. Without the makeup he did look a good deal like his brother, and from what he had gathered Ace was the least trusting of the trio even before they'd had the misfortune of catching Doflamingo's eye. In a way it was like dealing with a young Law all over again.

Speaking of, Law seemed fascinated by the others. He got along well enough with Sabo, both boys already trading what limited knowledge they had on proper wing care. He and Ace, however, seemed to butt heads over the slightest things, often arguing loudly, and he was sure when Law was more comfortable around his new 'siblings' they'd be coming to blows. The two of them were just too opinionated and stubborn for their own good. Luffy, on the other hand, got along with all of them. Despite everything he was by far the most cheerful little brat Corazon had ever met. He simply thrived on the attention the other four gave him and was not shy about falling asleep leaning against Corazon in a show of stunning trust at night. On the other hand, if he was left alone longer than few hours he had a knack for ending up in trouble even there on that tiny island. Someone usually was on Luffy duty, and recently it had been Corazon since he could more often than not walk out to the depth Luffy had fallen into.

Maybe now he could risk running out to a port town for dry goods and maybe some new clothes without worrying that he'd come back to battle lines drawn in the sand. He had planned to go before the three had arrived, and now they were running dangerously low on some things. If he was lucky he might even come across something to take those shackles off.

* * *

Corazon finished his drink in one gulp before contemplatively eyeing the glass. He really should be heading back to the boat and the island soon... But one more drink couldn't hurt. Law would be able to manage things for a little while longer, surely. He and Sabo seemed to be getting along reasonably well, at least...

Determined to let the boys tend for themselves for a few more hours, he tapped the table for another round. He needed some adult time away from bickering youths that didn't trust him in the slightest. Cora knew that wasn't exactly fair to the brats; Law, for one, trusted him quite a bit, and he supposed the others trusted him as much as they were able. They'd trust him more when he was finally able to remove those shackles around their ankles. Unfortunately that would have to wait till next month. None of the shops on this island had what he needed to remove the stone safely, though ironically there was a vivre card maker here. One that he had quickly taken advantage of, spending almost all their limited funds to make a card out of the nail Law had given him so he'd be able to find his way _back_ to the island.

He'd have to figure out some way to get more money soon; who knew kids were so expensive to care for? Or maybe it was just D kids? They sure ate more than what could possibly be normal. He fiddled with his glass, _maybe if I learn how to sew? Might save some money on new clothes,_ he mused. That might stretch his funds a little bit more, but it still didn't change the fact he'd be needing money soon. Which meant either piracy or working for the marines again. He frowned, taking a sip of his drink as he thought of the ramifications of working for the marines once more. If it had just been him it would have been his first choice. Even with just Law in tow he might have considered it. But with _four_ winged Ds, _three_ fully feathered…. it wasn't worth the risk of it getting back to the wrong people. No, he'd have to turn to small time piracy and hope for the best.

So absorbed in his thoughts Corazon didn't notice at first when he was joined at the bar. He would have had to have been an idiot not to notice the gun that poked him in the side, however. "I believe our friend here has had enough, barkeep." A pleasant voice commented. Corazon felt his eyebrows slowly creep up to his hairline as he looked at the man who'd pulled a gun on him and was now chatting up the bartender. Izo, sixteenth division commander of the Whitebeard pirates and an excellent shot even when he _didn't_ have the benefit of point blank range.

In short, he was screwed. Internally berating himself for being stupid enough to let his guard down, he stood when the shorter man did, neither wanting to cause a scene, and allowed himself to be directed out of the pub towards the wharf. He briefly entertained the thought of making a break for his dingy, but both his _companion's_ reputation and the sight of more Whitebeard pirates on his damn ship stopped him cold. Cora downgraded his position to fucked.

Izo shoved him up against a wall, gun still cocked and pointed at his chest. "What a pleasant _surprise_ to run into you here, Corazon." The commander's expression said it was anything but. "What are you doing here, trespassing in Whitebeard territory?"

Corazon raised both his hands in the universal sign of peace before reaching into his jacket slowly for his pad and pen. ::_Didn't know_:: he jotted down.

"Cut the crap, _Rosinante." _The other pirate snarled, snatching at the pad and tossing it over his shoulder, "I know you can talk, so _talk_. _WHY_ are you here?" When he refused to answer Izo snorted, calling over his shoulder to the three ransacking his ship. "What do we have, boys?"

"Provisions, Commander. Looks like lots of them, too. Meat, mostly. Some grains."

"Got something here." Another said, pulling up the bag he'd stuffed full of clothes from the second hand shop. Corazon groaned silently, letting the back of his head hit the wall as the man pulled out a shirt that was _obviously_ much too small for him to be wearing. "Looks like kid clothes…"

"I got a feather here."_ Shit!_ His gaze fell immediately to the orange dappled feather. One of Ace's molted feathers, probably flapped free when they were all hauling the boat into the water. "Too big to be a bird's, Izo."

The commander's expression went cold. "You kidnapping Ds for your brother, Corazon? Or maybe for the _marines_?" The gun pressed dangerously under his chin, "Your _brother_ killed one of our crewmembers, Marshall D. Teach. One of _my_ brothers. Maybe I should return the favor."

Corazon slapped the gun away, its sound silenced to those who hadn't seen the taboo as he pulled up his barrier. "Not so _loud,_ you asshole! Whatever grudge you got against Doflamingo, that's not my issue - In case you haven't heard he want's me _dead_." He growled, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up successfully.

"I bet it's an act. Let him get closer to other Ds, lure them in." One of the others commented, tossing the bag of clothes back onto the deck of the small ship. "You being a marine was a scam, too, right? Went undercover to find your brother more victims more like."

Cora gaped at him, "Wha- What the hell did he _do?!_" He looked at Izo, "I swear, I've got nothing to do with him- not anymore! He's _hunting_ me for crying out loud."

Izo eyed him, "And why is that?" When it became obvious he wasn't going to talk, the other sighed. "... Your _brother_ attacked a marine vessel a while back." Izo spoke, holstering his gun. While that wasn't surprising he felt there must be more to it. He was afraid to ask. "It was coming from the East Blue, bringing Monkey D. Garp's grandson to marine headquarters. There were no survivors."

Cora stared at him in shock, sick to his stomach. He'd met Garp a few times; nice enough for an overbearing jerk. One thing was obvious, though: he _loved_ his grandson. Talked about him a lot, but never by name. Corazon understood why… with his son being who it was, it was for the boy's own safety. "Are- are you sure? If the kid's Garp's grandson, he's a D, and Dof-"

"They found his hat." Izo spit out, "Akagami Shanks apparently knew the kid. Gave him Roger's old hat… it was in the wreckage. He's not going to rest until your brother's dead."

"Good." Corazon swallowed reflexively, "_Someone_ needs to put a stop to him, and the marines sure as hell didn't do anything with what I gave them."

A moment passed in silence as the three Whitebeard pirates looked at him in surprise. Corazon took a long drag from his cigarette. "I- I took something that he felt belonged to him." He chewed his lip, glancing at the smaller man. Izo had lost a brother to his mad scheme…. "_Someone_." He saw the moment the other understood. The gun's hammer returned to it's resting position.

"Where is this person?" Izo asked, eyes sharp.

He wasn't _that_ foolish. He'd risked too much to keep Law and the others safe. He wasn't going to sell them out, not even to the Whitebeard pirates who were known for their understanding nature. "Safe. Waiting for me, actually."

* * *

Corazon had been more than half afraid the Whitebeard pirates were going to try and follow him back to the small island sanctuary. When Izo had just let him go he'd watched the man waiting at first, expecting maybe a bullet in the back, too. But it never came. He had been allowed on his small skiff and had set out almost instantly, taking every chance to make is course as illogical as he could following a vivre card. After two days at sea it became clear no one was following and he rushed as best he could towards the island, worried about his boys.

The thought gave him pause. _His boys_, like they were his little brothers- or sons. He knew they would never view him as such, not when he was at least partially responsible for everything that had happened to all of them, but that was how he felt. So it was a great relief when the island came into sight. Pulling the skiff into the sand he let out a sharp whistle, calling the four out of the trees. He waited tensely on the beach a moment until they broke cover. "There you are!"

"Where else would we be?" Quipped Law, hugging him.

"Good point. I just missed you four so much."

"We missed you too, Cora-san!" Luffy grinned, "Nee nee, Sabo and Law found a big flappy bird and they tied it up. Can we keep it? Please?"

That caused the former Marine to pause. There really weren't a large number of birds around these parts that would fall under what Luffy'd call 'big' and 'flappy' instead of small or _huge_. And he was asking to keep it, not eat it. Which was worrying in itself. He gave the blond and the sleepy-looking raven a sharp look when he noticed they were trying to unsuccessfully shush Luffy. "Where is this bird?"

"In the hut, where it has the opportunity to recover in peace." Law refused to look at him, "We didn't _do_ anything to it, Cora-san. It was washed up on the shore."

Now he knew he had a reason to be worried. Sighing, the man headed to the patched-together hut. It wasn't much of one, being cobbled together out of the remains of the lifeboat between to larger trees. Still, it was enough to keep them dry in the worst weather. When he was almost on top of the hut he could hear the angry, unmistakable squawk. Once more he glared down at Law and Sabo, both who met his expression this time with mulish looks of their own.

Pushing the sail scrap out of the way he looked inside, not surprised to see a news coo struggling to stand in a nest made out old shirts. The bird's left wing was wrapped tightly to its body, padded with yet another shirt. That didn't seem to be impeding its ability to rise as much as annoy the bird. Once it had gained its feet it clacked its beak, hobbling forward. Corazon frowned, noticing a thick, blood stained pad where one webbed foot should have been.

Law followed his gaze before entering the hut and grabbing the recantant bird. "Foolish thing, I told you no walking until this has healed." He ignored the bird slapping him with its free wing and yanking his hair.

"So can we keep Stumpy?"

"No, Luffy." Corazon sighed, feeling a headache coming on. News coos weren't exactly tracked but the marines did use them to get a rough idea on where ships and the like were out at sea based on how many papers they sold. Harming one of the birds would also mean no other coos would deliver to you. How this one had found their island was a little upsetting.

"He washed up the day after you left. There was a bad storm that morning, and I think he got caught in it." Sabo commented, "it's a news coo, right? We weren't sure because his hat and bag were missing. Thought it was dead at first." The bird warked at him angrily from under Law's arm.

"Well, you _looked_ dead, you dumb bird." Ace grumbled. "We were gonna eat it but then it moved. So Law figured he could fix it..."

"You are not going to eat it, or keep it to figure out how to fly." Corazon sighed, "After it heals we're going to let it go and hope it doesn't come back."

"What? Why?!" Even the bird seemed to agree with Luffy.

"Marines have been known to _follow_ coos to locate pirate bases." He told the boys, "If it comes back, _don't_ take anything from it. No papers and no money. That would alert them right away that there is something out here."

Law seemed to think about that as he finished wrapping the leg, "but it's fine to help Stumpy, right?" Corazon nodded, "And if it just _happens_ to stop here, we can't stop it…?" The boy looked so hopeful.

"So long as we don't _take_ anything, and Stumpy here doesn't leave with any more money or letters, no one would know, right?" Sabo finished.

"..." They were plotting something. He just knew it. What was worse, he couldn't say no, not with those big brown eyes looking at him like that. With a sigh, he left, "I'm going back to the boat before the food I got spoils. Just behave." He didn't even want to know anymore. He knew that look Law was sharing with Sabo. They were going to do what they wanted anyway.

* * *

The Whitebeard pirates were less than thrilled with Izo's news. Over half the crew wanted to hunt the man down and extract vengeance on him for their own fallen brother, Teach. Oyaji cautioned them to wait, though. The old pirate had heard rumblings that all was not as it seemed between the Donquixote brothers before this. He well knew that Doflamingo was a lost cause even as a child. His heart was rotten to the core, thinking only of himself and not those he had surrounded himself with. His so-called _family_. The younger one, however, it was possible that the younger beat could be redeemed if what Izo was saying was right.

"My sons." He spoke, immediately gaining everyone's attention, "this man is not to be punished for the crimes of his brother, no matter how grievous they were against us. I, too, mourn the loss of Marshall D Teach. He was a strong man who loved this crew like family, and lead his division well. He always said this was the one place he felt free to be himself and not hide the power inside." Newgate closed his eyes briefly, trying to banish the thought of that very same son as he'd last seen him, broken and torn, wings shattered as he lay dying in the surf. "The D clan is an old clan with a dark past, and I gave Teach my word when he joined this crew I'd offer sanctuary to any of his clan-mates I found who were in need of it." It went unspoken that they'd both meant Winged Ds.

All around there were mumbled assents as the crew thought of the times that they'd arrived a little _too late_ to offer help, and the few cut-wing Ds they'd met on their travels. Teach hadn't always been the easiest of men to get along with at times, but they'd each understood the thing that drove him to become _stronger_ and _better_. It was something they all could respect.

"That day he came home to us- the day he died - I swore I'd honor my word." Whitebeard rose, grabbing his bisento. "If Rosinante has access to a D of any kind, I want to know! Whether or not he is working for his brother or the marines is secondary to protecting any D he might have access to. Find where he's hiding!" He slammed the butt of his bisento down, cementing his order.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ace asked, eyeing the drop suspiciously.

Sabo rolled his eyes at him, "Of course it is. Birds drop off of the cliffs all the time to fly, right? It should be the same thing."

"Of course, a good number of younger birds are dashed on the rocks below, which is why we are going to have Luffy attempt this first." Law calmly cut in from where he was carefully going over every single inch of the youngest's wings. Luffy still sported a number of light gray feathers mixed in with bolder reds and whites but they _thought _he was close enough to be able to fly. It had been a great relief when all his leading feathers had grown back nice and straight, and Law said out of the three of them Luffy's were the strongest looking, even if his wings still were insanely soft.

"So all I gotta do is jump off, right?"

"Well, there's a little more too it than that, Luffy." Sabo laughed. "You have to angle your wings to catch the wind and flap. But if those stupid gulls can do it, so can you."

Ace didn't share his confidence at all. Even assuming Luffy somehow managed to not plummet like a stone, a strong breeze could still slam him into a rock or tree. Rubber or not, what if it hurt Luffy?! Or worse, crippled him? "Maybe I should go."

"Nah, I got this!" Luffy grinned before slipping out of Law's hands and taking a short running leap off the highest collection of rocks on the island. For a moment the other three held their breaths, thinking it had worked as he hung there in the air. Then he dropped, _fast_ wind snatching at his wings and sucking him _down_ and _into_ the wall. Luffy let out a strangled 'help' as he smashed into the crumbling rock before being yanked away by another breeze for a bare moment. He spun out of control, hitting the wall again before crashing to the ground in a jumble of feathers.

Ace felt his stomach drop as he slid down the bluff with his wing brothers to the still form. Part of him wanted to rage that he _knew_ this was going to happen, but the look on Law and Sabo's faces stopped him. Worried hands flitted about the still form, afraid to touch in case they made things worse.

There was a groan and then Luffy sat up with a stiff flap. "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

"NO!" All three chorused.

After Law checked him over he sighed, "He appears to have just strained some muscles. I wouldn't recommend continuing this route." He eyed the bluff, "Or telling Cora-san."

* * *

Namur had been alerted when _Rosinante_ had been spotted on the small island again. Izo had told them all about how the man claimed to have had a deadly falling out with his brother, but no one was quite sure if they believed him or not. Not considering the fact that the man was a known marine spy. The very fact that he had what could only have been feathers from a D on his small ship was worrying. Izo, at the time, had not been equipped to follow the man, which was why Namur had been lurking around the island for the better part of a month in the hopes that he would return. It looked like their bet had paid off, too. A little more than a month after Izo had found the man loitering around and he was back, clumsily negotiating for dry goods.

The fishman stayed out of sight while he watched, actively ashamed of the other man's complete lack of skill. He was getting completely swindled in many cases, a sure sign that the people of the island knew he didn't belong even if they weren't actively lashing out against the tall man. At long last the blond returned to the rundown dingy where he dropped a depressingly small number of goods on deck before setting sail immediately. Namur could only assume that he'd used up most of his available funds this time on the small, flexible saw he bought for some reason, and had none left to get a drink at the local pub - all the better for the Whitebeard pirate. The sooner he was able to track Corazon back to where he was staying, the better. And if he just so happened to be lying about working with his brother… well, Moby Dick could always use more supplies.

The dingy's voyage was anything but straightforward, tacking far to port before correcting - over correcting, actually. It was painful to watch and Namur could only assume that the fool on the ship either was horrible at navigating or wasn't using an eternal log pose. Watching him tack again, his eye twitched, concluding it might very well have been both. Either way, it made following him very annoying, and they didn't arrive at their apparent destination until early the next morning. It was an island; that in itself wasn't too surprising, all things considered. What _was_ a little odd was that Corazon _circled_ the island until he reached a cove, one with jagged rocks lining it, before turning his ship towards land. Once he was sure the man was landing, Namur swam a little ways off and climbed on top of the very rocks the man was going out of his way to avoid. They not only hid him from view, but they offered an excellent vantage point of the beach where the former piratical marine wrestled the vessel onto the sand before stopping and putting both hands on his knees. After a moment he straightened and let out a piercing whistle.

At first nothing happened. Then there was a rustle in the trees and _four _bodies came barreling out of the woods, getting in each other's way in their mad dash to be the first one there. Sand was kicked up and insults spewed forth before one, slightly taller, slammed into Corazon with enough forced to make the man take a step back. He still managed to catch the other three easily. If the high pitched voices hadn't given it away, seeing them did- Corazon was living on the island with _children_.

"Luffy, get your joint out of my face!"

"Get your stupid face off my wing, then!"

"Both of you shut up. I swear, we are in _no way_ related Cora-san." The other dark haired child's tone bespoke of long-suffering annoyance as the two squabbling brats went rolling past in the sand, exchanging blows.

"_That_ would be more believable coming from me, Law." The blond child pointed out as he was peeled from Corazon's side and placed on the sand. The tall man knelt before him and started to do something around the boy's leg.

"You _admit _they're your brothers. In public, Sabo."

"Touché. Still _I'm_ the only blond one of us, and for the sake of argument I don't have wings anymore. So, you _are _a better fit."

"Go to Hell."

"Been there, got a souvenir, remember?" The blond quipped.

"Not anymore, Sabo. I think I finally got - it - off! There!" Corazon sat back, holding what, at this distance, definitely looked like a shackle, before chucking it into the water. "How does it feel?"

"Weird. Light."

"Me next, me next!" The youngest pushed his way forward.

"No moving while Cora-san takes the shackle off, idiot. You don't wanna lose a foot, alright?"

Namur silently slid off the rock. He had seen enough and didn't want to intrude on the moment any longer than he already had. It was clear that the man obviously cared greatly for the four children in his care and was doing his best by them. Suddenly he felt bad about the glee he had felt over watching the man get swindled. Feeding not one but _four_ Ds was quite the task. He vowed to talk to Pops and see what could be done while keeping the island a secret. To think that he, Namur, had seen three fully winged Ds today... Happy and free, no less. Corazon might not have known it, but he had a new ally.

* * *

Thatch was waiting for Namur to arrive back from his recon mission. It was early, much too early for any sane man to be up, but he really wanted to know what his brother thought of Corazon. Not to mention the early pirate got the paper. He smiled as his favorite news coo came in for a clumsy landing on the rail. The bird was larger than some of the others and carried itself like a warrior. Marco told him it was just because the bird was missing a foot, causing it to hobble around on the stub. Thatch disagreed - Marco hadn't seen the bird lay into one of their brothers for not paying its higher prices. It was odd that _this_ coo charged a full beli more per paper, but it was out hours before the rest of the news coo flock, so Thatch was willing to pay the little bit extra.

"Over here, Coo." He called, showing the bird his money as he walked forward. Only a fool took the paper before paying. "Hey, how many papers do ya got? Eight? Mind if I buy all of them?" The bird gave him a look. "I'll even make it _two_ extra beli a copy, since you have to run back to get more, huh?" The bird nodded, beak clacking. Thatch grinned as the news coo ran it's bill through his hair as he deposited the money and took the papers. He wondered as the bird took off if the extra money was going for its care.

"You spoil that bird, yoi."

"Eh, it's harmless, and it's not like I can't afford the beli." He tossed over a paper. "Namur'll be back soon, right?"

"He called. He should be here in an hour or so. Didn't want to say anything over the denden, though." Marco agreed, opening the paper and keeping him company. Both quickly lost track of time as they waited and before they knew it the eighth division commander was pulling himself on board.

"Waiting for me?"

"Always." Thatch winked. "So how did it go?" He asked, folding the paper.

"You'll find out when I tell Oyaji just like everyone else."

Marco's eyes narrowed, "Is he dangerous, then?"

The fishman shrugged, "Probably. But if you're asking if he's a threat to us, I'd say no. I won't say any more till I talk to Oyaji, though."  
Both men nodded, understanding even as they fell into step with him. It was driving Thatch nuts. He'd heard all sorts of speculation since Izo had first spotted him in the port town. Some of their brothers had immediately called for retribution on Rosinante, but many others were willing to give the man a chance. No one knew what to make of him having been a spy for the marines against his brother. Not that they didn't think Doflamingo didn't deserve to be stopped - but what would cause a man to become a turncoat and spy on their brother? For a Whitebeard pirate, it was a hard thing to wrap their minds around. When the three finally stood before their captain it came as no surprise that most of the crew had roused themselves and gathered around to hear what the eighth division commander had to say.

"My son."

"Oyaji."

Whitebeard took a drink from his tankard, eyes never leaving Namur. "How did your mission go?"

"The villagers in that town are completely swindling Corazon. I'm not even sure if the man is aware if it, he's so easy going while there." His words earned a few chuckles, including Thatch's. He was proud of the civilians, standing up against a stranger who might be a danger any way they could.

"So is he kidnapping Ds or what?" Someone in the back called, impatient.

"I'll get to that, you bastards. Wait a second." Namur shook his head, obviously organizing his thoughts. "He's holled up on an island, probably a day or so straight sailing from Tartoga, but it's not on any map. It's not even big enough to register with a log pose."

Thatch silently whistled. That _was_ small, practically a sandbar of an island. Strange that such a notorious man would be hiding out there. It did give credence to the story that he was hiding away from Doflamingo. However, such a place would be ideal for launching sneak attacks as well. He shared a look with Marco, seeing the same thoughts clear as day on his friend's face.

Namur's attention was fully on their captain, "Oyaji, Corazon wasn't _lying_ to Izo."

"Oh?" The old pirate tensed, as did most of the crew.

"He's got Ds on the island with him."

"D's? As in, more than one?" Thatch asked.

Namur just _smiled_, "Four."

"Why are you _smiling_ about this? _How_ is this, in any way, a good thing?" He asked, wanting to shake his brother. If Corazon was stealing Ds, he had _four_ to give to his brother!

Namur dug into his pants, pulling out a broken shackle and holding it out for Whitebeard to see. "He was cutting these off them." The mark on it was clear - Doflamingo's jolly roger. "And all four were excited to see him. He's hiding them, Oyaji."

"Can you take us to them, my son?"

The fishman's smile faltered and he shook his head, "I won't." Before more than a few of their brothers had protested, he was looking at Whitebeard, determination in his eyes. "Four Ds, Oyaji. _Three_ fully _winged_ Ds and one cut-wing, all kids."

The crew erupted. It was almost unheard of to know of _one_ winged D. Four, though? And all young? The odds of that were slim. People carrying the name D were rare enough as it was. Thatch thought furiously, trying to figure it out. They all knew Doflamingo had been targeting Ds for a while, but no one had even suspected he had actually _managed_ to get ahold of any more winged ones after what he had done to Teach… and the fact they were _children_ was sickening. Suddenly he was glad that Akagami's young friend had been killed in Doflamingo's attack on the marine ship. If he hadn't- the pirate repressed a shudder.

Namur's voice broke him out of his dark thoughts, "I don't know how Doflamingo _found_ four. Corazon managed to get them away from his brother, though. Oyaji, they're safe where they are. Hidden." Whereas if they were on the Moby Dick they wouldn't be. Thatch wasn't the only one who was nodding along.

"What would you recommend then, my son?"

"Strengthen our presence in this area. Make it easier for Corazon to get the supplies he needs."


	7. Chapter 7

"Look at the facts, though."

"I am. I just don't believe the four of us make a large enough sample population."

"Law, the four of us have comparatively larger shoulders and deeper chest cavities than what would be expected. _You're_ the one who pointed this out. You can't tell me you don't think it has to do with being a winged D." Sabo pressed.

"I'm not saying it _doesn't_, I'm just saying that four doesn't make a good sample size. And what of non winged D? That is data we would need as well to be able to back the claim that our physiology is such that we are designed to fly."

Ace joined in the debate, flipping through the week-old paper Stumpy had brought. "Well, I'm not sure about that, but we can all agree that we are both stronger than normal people and able to leap further, right? That has to count for something." The bird warked its agreement, nestled in Luffy's lap. Once in a while the crippled news coo flew to the island, bringing damaged, old papers, and for some reason beli. Corazon had been happy to accept the papers- all days old and obviously thrown away by people- but the beli was confusing. The bird had taken to leaving the small amount in Cora-san's hat and had bit the man when he had tried to put it in the collection cup.

Luffy thought the bird was forming a pirate treasure. Since someone had modified the coo's standard hat with with a jolly roger, it was possible, Ace supposed. But the bird never seemed to mind when Cora-san borrowed money from the stash. So long as there was fresh fruit and those small crabs Stumpy liked the next time the bird visited, he seemed to not even notice. It was just strange. But maybe the bird was getting old. Who knew how long a news coo worked for, anyway. "What do you think, Stumpy?"

"Wark!"

"See, he thinks it means we can fly too. Just got to get off the ground." Ace grinned.

"Oh no. I know that look. What are you planning?" Sabo half laughed.

"Well- if Luffy can use that one attack, the bazooka one, to get me into the air, that should work, right?"

The look Law fixed him with could have peeled paint, "And why are you volunteering?"

"Because if we screw up and he hits me too hard, I can just let it pass through me instead of breaking all my ribs. Because _that_ would be a lot of fun to explain to Cora-san."

"I'm amazed you thought this through." Law smirked, "Very well. I will hold Stumpy while you two idiots try."

He'd show Law. This was definitely going to work. Bouncing to his feet, Ace made sure to have his wings out and stand well clear of the others. "Ok, Luffy. Hit me with your best shot."

"Are you sure, Ace?"

"Just do it-" He didn't have time to finish before he was flying forwards, thanks to a hit below the wings. Ace realized he might have miscalculated a bit only seconds before he slammed into a tree face first. It didn't hurt, but looking up he noticed the reason for that was that the tree, which had stood tall and strong, was now a burned out husk.

"Well, that worked brilliantly." Sabo grinned, trotting over.

"Yes, Cora-san will _never_ notice the burned out tree. Wonderful thinking, Ace."

Coloring, because Law was right, damn it all, he turned to his other brothers. "Luffy, I bet you tonight's meat you can't slingshot Law into the sky..."

"You're on!"

"What?! No. No, don't!" Law yelped as Sabo scooped Stumpy from his arms just as Luffy grabbed him and took off at a mad dash. Ace waved farewell to his retreating form.

"You know he's probably going to crash." Sabo commented, grinning.

"Yeah... But Lu was heading for the beach so he should be fine. Besides, he's the only one who can swim out of the three of us, anyway."

Stumpy fluffed up and Sabo let go of the bird, watching as the news coo landed awkwardly on a tree branch before letting out a saddish sounding trill and taking flight. "Show off!" Sabo called out, "See you next time, Stumpy! Safe flight!"

* * *

Leaving his boys was always stressful for Corazon. Now that the four of them had become brothers, according to Luffy, he was under no illusions that it was going to be smooth sailing. Ace and Law still bickered daily, neither willing to give any ground to the other while Sabo subtly egged them on. The little bastard. Luffy just had a knack for pissing everyone off at some point, but admittedly it was hard to stay mad at him for long. It was worrying to think about what state the island would be in when he got back, though. Would war have been declared? The hut burned down? He doubted they'd kill each other but bodily harm was possible…

Admittedly he was a little distracted by thoughts of his tiny island home up in flames with literal lines drawn in the sand, his wards flinging rocks at each other for their new territories, that he didn't notice anything odd at first. It wasn't until the woman selling flour added a small bag of _sugar_ to his order and didn't charge him that he began to suspect something was up. Sugar was often times hard to come by in its raw form, and just a little bit would go a long way with four boys no longer used to sweets. Mixed with water, he could even create a syrup to preserve things. The thing was, he couldn't afford it, not with their drastically limited funds.

_::I didn't order this.::_ He wrote on a note and passed to her.

She winked at him, "Oh, that's fine, deary. It's on the house."

Corazon knew better to press his luck, especially when it was something that could only benefit the boys in his care. Besides, it would insult her if he refused. So he took the sugar. Except then he started to notice the people whispering behind his back, the women giggling as he went by. It was very uncomfortable. What made it worse was the fact he couldn't tell what they were saying. He only knew that it was about him thanks to liberal use of haki and the feeling of being watched.

Things got even odder when he went to the used clothes dealer. Normally on his monthly stop he purchased four tops and eight bottoms, as well as the necessary undergarments for the boys and if he had the money, the cheapest outfit that would fit his much larger frame. The man running the place was a skinflint, meaning Corazon had to fight to save every fraction of a beli he could. Boys, he discovered, were not cheap to keep clothed. Even after learning how to sew, he spent almost as much money here as he did on food. So he was quite shocked when the usually crotchety old man sold him everything he needed for a quarter of the price. He hadn't even needed to haggle!

Now he was sure something was up, especially when the clothes monger told him to stop by the butcher for some dried meat. Since when did the butcher have dried meat on this island? Glancing around casually as he rearranged his purchases, Corazon spotted _someone_ trying to subtly duck into a little side street. He narrowed his eyes, biting down hard on his cigarette as he perilously strode towards where the man had disappeared. He had a sneaking feeling he knew what was going on. When he rounded the corner of an old building and nearly had a man turn smack into his chest, he was sure of it.

"Oh, hi there. Corazon, right?" The redhead laughed awkwardly. Corazon just glowered down at him, recognizing the fourth division commander of the Whitebeard pirates easily. The man caved easily under his stare. "I, uh, wasn't following you or anything if that's what you're thinking. Honest. I just happened to be going the same way- and then I saw this-cat!- yeah, a cat- down this street and it looked hurt so I-"

Corazon quickly cast silence over the area, shoving the smaller man further into the empty street. "You're a horrible liar." He informed the other. And he should know; he lived with Luffy.

"I'm not _lying_..." The man pouted before giving up. "Fine. Just don't tell Marco. Or Izo." A wide grin and a hand was thrust at his chest, "I'm Thatch!"

"Yeah, fourth division commander of the Whitebeard pirates. I know." He puffed out some smoke and glared at the man, "_Why_ are you following me?"

Another pout, "I just wanted to see how the plan was working."

"This got anything to do with the weird shit going on?"

"Do you like it? I'd like to say it was my idea, but really it was a group effort." Thatch beamed at him. "Tell me. You do, right?"

He assumed the plan had to do with him getting things at a discount, but... "It's creepy, to be honest."

"What, why?"

"The women are _gigging _at me. I'm not used to that." He looked away, coloring slightly. "Or people being nice. I'm a pirate and a marine. It's _wrong._" He grumbled.

"Aw, don't be like that. None of the civilians know about _that_... We wanted them to like you." He muttered.

"What did you say to these people?"

"The truth!" Thatch held up his hands when Corazon made to punch him. "That you were an ex sailor and had found orphaned child- you guys were living on an island a day or so out and under our protection. That's it. I swear."

Corazon narrowed his eyes. Something about the story didn't sit quite right. "Someone followed me?"

"Only till you got out to those reef islands. When we didn't find any ships moored we figured your story had to be true."

That was a lie. He could see it in Thatch's open face- way too honest for a pirate. Someone had found his island and had seen one of the boys. His heart did a weird lurch but he kept the straight face. "Why would that suddenly make everyone _nice_?"

"Because the ladies think it's romantic! A man, giving up his career for his brats, the stuff women fantasize about. Don't ask me why. And of course, the men around here figure it's gotta be tough without a lady, but of course _you_ won't subject a fair maiden to life on a deserted island. So they're trying to help out, too. The warning we're watching your back didn't hurt, either."

He knew he should refuse the help. Corazon couldn't really trust the Whitebeard pirates, and he didn't like that they had _spied_ on him- seen one of the boys. God he hoped it was only one. But... With four mouths to feed plus his own well being to consider, he couldn't. Even if his pride as a man rebelled against it. The boys needed every scrap of help he could garnish if they were going to live to their majority and make it off the little island sanctuary safely. Reluctantly he nodded at Thatch. "Fine. I'll accept your help. But if I catch any of you around my island..." He let the threat hang empty in the air. He could do nothing, and they both knew it.

Still, the other nodded with a serious expression, pretending, at least, to be cowed. Corazon was thankful for _that_ at least as he turned and walked back out into the crowd. If the shopkeepers were going to be helpful, he was going to pick up some cheese as well.

* * *

"This group of muscles here is really important. Even Luffy's tend to get really sore and tense. Feel that?" Sabo asked, fingers working into the flesh under the wing joint.

"Unnn- yeah."

"I thought you would. You're very tense. You should have let one of us do this for you ages ago, Law."

"You were unavailable, and Cora-san was helping Luffy."

"Ace is just as good at this, you know." Sabo pointed out, digging his fingers into a particularly thick knot, "Actually, he's the best."

Law absorbed that information for a moment before letting out a huff, "But I don't _want_ to go to him for help. He'd never let me forget it."

The blond chuckled in agreement, switching to slower circles now that the worst of the knots were gone and just focusing on soothing instead. "You two can't seem to get along for more than five minutes. He's pissed off at you again, by the way."

"I expected as much." Came the smug reply.

"Oh? What did you do?"

"Simply told him that he'd never be able to master his devil fruit to the point of just having his wings on fire." He let out a half moan in pleasure at what his brother was doing, "Even if he did- it'd never make a _useful_ attack."

"So… you lied."

"If you want to be crude about it, yes." He turned his head to catch Sabo's eyes, "It's excellent motivation, don't you think? Now he's determined to prove me wrong."

Sabo laughed again, "If he catches on, you know he's going to try to kill you."

"Only if he thanks me first." He shifted, not uncomfortable but feeling really _good_. Every touch to the wing joints just made the feeling grow. Suspecting what was going on, he glanced down in his lap, blinking bemusedly. "Well, that was unexpected."

"What was?" Sabo asked, resting his head on Law's shoulder to see what the older teen was talking about. "...Oh. That's a first."

Law smirked, "So you didn't start this with the intent to get me aroused?"

"WHA-! No! I was trying to he-!"

"Relax, Sabo. I have heard massages can have this effect… I do have to admit it is quite interesting." He stood, "I suggest we don't tell Cora-san, hmmm?"

"I don't have a problem with that. Where are you going?"

"To take care of this little… problem. Why, would you like to come?" Law's chuckle was anything but mocking when Sabo colored and looked away shyly. He hadn't really expected the other to finish what he'd started.

* * *

Marco was enjoying a nice drink on Tartoga. Ever since Namur had suggested the Whitebeard pirates make their presence better felt in this area, the division commanders had taken turns staying in Tartoga with a small group of their division each month. It was something of a mini-vacation really, as they had had very little issues with marines or other pirate crews. So far, Marco himself had been here twice before, and each time he'd been bored out of his mind. His brothers seemed to be enjoying themselves, though, so it wasn't all bad. Still, he'd rather be on _Moby_ _Dick_ with Oyaji.

So there he was, drinking alone in the slightly rundown bar on Tartoga. In another two weeks Corazon would be making his regular supply run and then a few days after that Marco's relief would come. Not that he was counting down the days or anything. He was a pirate, though, born and bred for the sea and the freedom she gave. Staying on land too long made him antsy. In that, he admired Corazon's dedication to those brats. It had to be tough staying land-locked for years, let alone on such a small scrap of land. Some, he was sure, would call it pennance. Marco knew better. It was redemption.

He'd just started on his fifth drink when the door to the bar banged open. Turning in surprise as most of the villagers were pretty quiet by nature and temperament, he was shocked to see Corazon standing there. The man didn't even glance at him as he crossed to the bar in a few steps with those ridiculously long legs of his and sat a stool away. Marco kept staring. Corazon was early and not only that but it looked like either he had started to wear that ridiculous makeup again or had one hell of a black eye.

"Vodka, and leave the bottle." The tall blond practically growled out. If the barkeep was caught off guard by the generally mute man speaking he hid it well, bringing over two bottles before topping off Marco's drink and making himself scarce. Marco couldn't blame the man; Corazon seemed pissed as he downed a third of the first bottle like it was water. Wisely the first division commander said nothing, just kept silent watch. He doubted the man had done anything to the brats, so he was willing to keep him company and offer an ear if needed.

A bottle of vodka later, Corazon rested his head on the cool counter. "I shouldn't have just left like that. What if they think I abandoned them?"

Cautiously Marco reached out to pat the obviously drunk man on the back. "This have anything to do with your black eye?" He got a groan as a reply and assumed it was a yes. "Got into a fight with your ward?"

"No."

"I knew you were clumsy but-"

"Fuck off, Marco. I was breaking _up_ a fight." Corazon glared at him. "The orange and yellow were going at it- again."

"I think you've had a bit too much to drink."

"Don't give me that shit. I know that _you_ know I've got more than one brat on the isle with me. I'm not stupid!" He glared a moment, and Marco reluctantly nodded. "So's, they were at it _again_. This time over _wingspan,_ of all things. One stupid remark from the blue one and the two of them are at each other's throats like they wanna kill the other. Couldn't just stand back to back? Noooo. That's too simple."

He took a swig of his drink, a frown on his face. "'Course I got involved. Wasn't playing favorites. Wings flying, fists flying. Someone was gonna get hurt. So I pull them apart. Damn if the orange one didn't clock me in the eye. Shit _does_ have a larger wingspan." He let out a half laugh, "And that started a whole new fight. Me getting hurt. Couldn't take it. It's been constant for the last few months. If those two aren't going at it then the red one is being reckless or the blue one is picking on someone. They're driving me insane."

"Sounds to me like it's time for you all to leave that little island."

"No shit?" Corazon ran a hand through his hair. "The problem is _where_ do we go? Don't you dare say your crew, either. I didn't spend all this time raising these boys to be free to take that choice from them."

Marco shut his mouth. He had been about to suggest exactly that. The other man was right, however. The young Ds should have a choice in which crew they joined, if any. It shouldn't be Corazon's place to decide, even if letting them 'fly free', as it were, was risky. He could respect that. So instead he thought for a few moments while the other continued to drink. "Have you thought... about taking them to Sabaody?"

At the other's outrage he held up a hand. "Hear me out. It's neutral ground, for the most part. Lots of different crews gather there to broker deals and to pick up new members. If your boys are looking to join up it would be a good place to look. Plus, Rayleigh lives there now, and I'm more than sure that old sea dog would be willing to set you all up with a ship if needed."

Corazon seemed to think on that. "It could work... But I'm not sure how to get there from here."

"Come back when you usually would and I'll have a vivre card for you."

"That... could work. We'd need supplies for the trip. God, the four of them on my little boat till we get there... I might have to drown one. I _will _silence the lot of them." He laughed. "I hate kids, you know."

"I can tell." Marco smiled back, holding up his glass, "To shitty brats."

* * *

Shanks was very uncomfortable in the stupid pink frilly dress Benn had found for him to wear to Sabaody. It bunched and gathered in all the wrong places, there was a draft where any self-respecting man did not want a draft and pink was a horrible color on him. He was a redhead! Redheads did better with greens and browns, occasionally oranges. Not pink. Still, no one looked twice at the hideous woman he made so he supposed his first mate was correct in his choice of attire for going undercover. Though, if they botched the raid on that marine base in the New World and didn't get that devil fruit he was going to be pissed. Even if it was only a distraction. A man had his honor, after all.

Walking into Rip Off, he let out a sigh of relief, instantly wiping off the makeup that he had inexpertly applied even as Shakky called out a greeting. "Hello there, Ma'am. What can I do you fo- Shanks? Dear lord, is that you under that?"

"Don't you dare laugh-" It was too late of course; she was holding onto the counter, tears in her eyes as he pouted at her. Sullenly he made his way over, opening his stupid little frilly bag and pulling out his pants and shirt. They were wrinkled as hell but they were real clothes. "It's not that funny."

"Oh, it's hilarious! Let's get a good look at you- wait till Rayleigh see's this! What are you doing, Shanks? Don't take it off."

He sniffed indignantly, "Of course I'm going to take it off. It chafes. And I look stupid. But it got me past those damn marines."

"I was wondering." Shakky smiled, much calmer now that he was out of the dress and pulling on his top. She handed him his hat with a fond smile, "Thought you were out trashing a base, brat."

"Nah, the boys are just running a distraction while I visit. It's been a while and I didn't want the old coot to forget about me."

A gruff voice laughed from the rickety stairs leading to the second level, "How could I forget about you, you little scamp?"

Shanks's face lit up, "Rayleigh! How have you been?"

"Not too bad, not too bad. I've heard you're causing quite a bit of trouble though, Yonko Akagami Shanks."

The smile Shanks gave him was absolutely shark-like, "Well, I am a pirate. You can't expect me to just take it easy on those who've wronged me."

Rayleigh nodded, his expression somber. Nothing else needed to be said. Shanks had told the man years ago about his funny little Anchor on his way back into the New World after visiting the East Blue, and again later after the boy's death. The Dark King well understood what drove Shanks, and while he didn't necessarily approve, he could relate. He had felt much the same when the marines had killed all the women and unborn children who could possibly have had ties to Roger. Worse still was hearing Rouge had died in childbirth, the babe stillborn. He blamed the marines for causing it, keeping it from the rest of the crew so they wouldn't throw their lives away in revenge. "Come, boy. Have a seat. Tell me about this so-called distraction."

"Only you, Shakky, and Newgate call me 'boy' anymore." Shanks grinned at him, sitting. "Show some respect."

"When you've earned it, boy." Shakky teased, placing a mug full of his favorite rum in front of the younger pirate. "Now tell."

"Not much to tell. Heard they had a devil fruit – Opi Opi no Mi – and decided that they shouldn't. Benn and I agreed it was the perfect opportunity for me to sneak away for a visit, too. You know how the marines are. I so much as sneeze and they're all over us like flies on shit. I know my crew can handle this without me, but the marines? No way they'll expect me to be somewhere else."

"Good point." Rayleigh acknowledged, taking a sip of his own drink. "Killing two birds with one stone."

"Yep."

"And I must say, that dress looked… stunning on you."

Shanks sputtered, spilling some of his drink, "RAYLEIGH!"

* * *

Sabo rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder, preventing his youngest brother from running off and getting into trouble as the four of them wandered through the crowds of Sabaody. He wished he had the foresight to grab a hold of Ace, too, but it was a bit late for that. Now they were most _definitely_ being followed, and the second eldest looked like he was just seconds away from flipping out and trying to burn everyone around them that wasn't a part of their little family. Cora-san would NOT be amused in the slightest.

"Keep your temper, ya. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"We're being _followed_!" Ace hissed back, shoulders hunching in an obvious attempt to keep his wings in. Sabo's grip tightened on the modified pole he was carrying. It looked like he was going to be testing it sooner rather than later.

Luffy twisted in his grasp, trying to look around, "We're being followed? COOL!"

"Not cool!" Ace growled, "I bet it's those Whitebeard assholes. We should take them out, _then_ go after the rest of their crew as soon as we get a ship."

"Don't be stupid."

"How is that stupid, Sabo? It'd teach people not to mess with us."

Law snorted, "I have to agree with him. Our _real_ goal needs to be to take out the _actual_ threat. Doflamingo. Or has your power finally roasted that pathetic excuse for a brain?"

Sabo sighed, coming to a stop as both of them turned to face each other. This fight had been brewing since they'd left the island, but with Cora-san silencing them the worst they'd been able to do was make increasingly rude gestures at each other. He supposed he should be thankful that both seemed to remember enough to keep their wings in. Luffy was easily agitated, and when one of his beloved older brothers started to mantle his _always_ appeared in response. While cute, right now it was potentially a fatal threat.

"_Excuse_ me? You want to go after _Doflamingo_?! Are you _NUTS?!"_

"I'm not a coward, ya!"

"Who are you calling a coward?"

"YOU!" The shoving started, "Did he scare you so bad the mere thought of facing him again frightens you so, _brother_?"

Ace gripped Law's shirt tightly and glaring at him, "Are you _forgetting_ something? Like, oh, _LUFFY?!_ He's nowhere _near_ strong enough to face that monster again! Not yet!"

Law blinked, anger draining out of his face as he looked over to their youngest brother who was watching the fight attentively as usual. Sabo was a bit relieved to see the color drain out of his face. He didn't _think_ that Law had actually thought his plan of vengeance through all the way. No… none of them had put much thought into what would happen _after_...

"I'm strong enough! I'm gonna be an awesome pirate!"

"NO!" All three chorused.

Sabo sighed, running his hand through Luffy's hair, "We know you're going to be an amazing pirate one day, Luffy. But that man… there's no way you're strong enough to face him right now." He met Law and Ace's eyes, "None of us are, really. It'll take _time_ to get stronger."

"Which is why we should start with Whitebeard!"

"Oh, great, start with the strongest man in the world. Brilliant, Ace."

Before the two of them could start up again, Sabo spoke up, "I think… I think we might have to split up." He made a sour face, the words bitter tasting on his tongue even as the others stared at him in shock. "We don't all _really_ want the same things, even if the thought of being apart hurts."

"That's not true, ya. We all want the others to be safe."

"Beyond that, Law." Sabo said, rolling his eyes. "The way we want to go about it. It's different. _You_ want to go after the immediate threat. Right now. _Ace_ wants to go after the biggest person on the sea and get them to back off - which will make others think twice about messing with us, right?"

"Well, duh. I thought that was obvious." Law snorted, obviously questioning if Ace had thought it through that much.

"_Luffy_ wants to show everyone he's too strong to mess with." The teen practically bounced in his arms, nodding enthusiastically. "And _I_ want to find out _why_ things are like this, and how to stop it."

Ace frowned, crossing his arms, "...Are you suggesting we can't do all of this?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm saying we can… just, that it would be easier to split up. At least for a while." He offered a bitter smile, "You guys are my everything. It's the last thing I wanna do, but if we sail together, we're just going to keep fighting over every little decision. What if we end up _hating_ each other?"

"We never could, ya." Law slung an arm around Ace, walking over to them, "But, you may have a point. Divide and conquer. If we attack our problems from different angles, it might be easier and faster to take care of them."

"I still don't like it. The idea of us on our own, alone… It's too much like _before_, you know?" Ace frowned before nodding to himself, "Vivre cards. For all of us. And keeping in touch. I don't give a shit if you guys need a hand killing a seaking, you need help, you send word. Got it?"

"_You_ are more likely to need help then I." Law chuckled, "But yes. And it won't be forever."

"Or for long, right?" Luffy chirped, tugging at the hem of his shirt, "I - I don't like being alone."

Sabo sighed, "In no time you'll have a crew of your own, Lu. You'll hardly miss us."

"Liar." Luffy pouted, and Sabo winced.

Ace crouched down, "Alright then, how about we meet back here? In… two years? That way you can show us your crew. And if Law here needs help with killing that man, maybe then we can _all_ help?"

"I hardly will need help. But yes. I like that plan." Law agreed before falling silent. All four of them were obviously thinking about what was to come, and what could have been. It wasn't going to be an easy path, and it wasn't going to be pleasant at all times, but it was for the best. Finally Law let out a huff, either annoyed with the dark turn his thoughts had taken or with the fact they were still being watched from a discrete distance. "So, we were going to test your glider today, ya?"

"Cora-san said not to…" Luffy pointed out.

All three of the older boys rolled their eyes. "Yeah, but I'm going to need some serious height to start from."

"I see. Luffy?" The teen looked at him, "Find the tallest tree you can, and climb it."

"Really?"

"Really. I'll give you this dried squid if you do- and there he goes."

"Cora-san is going to be pissed." Ace commented.

"He never gets _that_ mad at Luffy, ya. Hurry up before we lose him!"

* * *

The old, retired pirate laughed at Shanks' tale, remembering vividly the days when he used to be the one taunting rookie pirates who challenged him. He was not paying much mind when Shakky turned her attention to the front door, greeting a customer. The slight twitch of her hand towards the shotgun she kept below the bar did cause him to pause. Shanks fell silent as well, having picked up on her slight unease at the new customer, though neither let on, maintaining relaxed postures at the bar even as the steady tread of footfalls approached.

"Are you Silvers Rayleigh?" The person asked from right behind him.

He twirled his drink. "Depends on who wants to know." He replied, turning in his chair to see the stranger as he didn't recognize the voice. The moment he saw the incredibly tall blond man that towered over him, his first thought was Doflamingo, but he dismissed that almost immediately. The man was too – soft, in a way, to be that psychopath. Given the resemblance, he had a good idea on who it was. Unfortunately he didn't get to voice it as Shanks chose that moment to turn around.

"YOU!" The Yonko hissed, lunging for Rosinante with murder in his eyes. The taller man danced out of range with a grace that wasn't suggested in the stories Rayleigh had heard about him. "Hold still and fight like a man!"

"I don't want to fight you!" The man shouted back, drawing his gun despite his words and leveling it right at Shanks' head. It did have the desired effect of stopping the angry pirate. "I'm Corazon- Rosinante, NOT Doflamingo."

"I know that!" Shanks growled, "Your brother took someone _very_ precious to me!"

"Doflamingo may be my brother, but trust me when I say I want the bastard dead as badly as you do."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because my brother would gladly kill me if he caught me. I've been hiding from him for years. From him and the marines." Rosinante put the safety back on his gun and holstered it before looking at Rayleigh, "I'm here because I was told you might be able to help me, Silvers."

"Oh? How so?"

"I need a ship – small enough for five to comfortably sail it but big enough for… no one to accidently fall overboard during a spar." He explained, piquing the Dark King's interest.

"Sparing? You expect a lot of that?" He had a feeling 'spar' wasn't the word he was originally going to use.

Rosinante dropped heavily onto one of the bar stools with the air of one half-defeated, causing it to creak, "I've got four teenaged boys with me. All they do is 'spar'."

That, Rayleigh understood all too well. Sounded just like Buggy and Shanks as boys. He chuckled, slapping the man on the back. "Brats. What can you do? Sure, I might be able to help. For a price, of course." The man's face fell further, and Rayleigh realized why he hadn't heard about the man for quite some time.

"Where the hell did you pick up four brats?" Shanks shot out, giving the man a dark, untrusting look.

"Stole them away from my brother. Well, one of them. Other three just sort of showed up." Rosinante shrugged helplessly, "I couldn't let him—they're just kids, dammit. So I hid them. Real pain in the ass that was, let me tell you. Thought we were all going to starve to death more than once."

Shanks seemed to think on that, staring pensively into his drink. Rayleigh let him, having a good idea what the man was thinking. He wasn't disappointed. "Well, if you need money for a ship, I can help. Especially if it'll piss off that rotten brother of yours."

Something tickled at Rayleigh's haki. The man looked up, noticing Shanks do the same even as Rosinante groaned and hid his face in his hands. "I told them to be subtle." On the tail end of his words there were four thuds outside followed by laughter. Rayleigh wasn't the only one who turned to look at the door to see what the excitement was about.

A lanky teen practically fell into the bar, catching himself at the last minute with a dark glare over his shoulder even as he grinned. "Watch it, ya."

"Then move, you overgrown buzzard." A light laughing voice answered, "You're blocking the – OPH- door. Heavy…"

"Ace pushed me! And I'm not heavy! You weigh lots more, Sabo!"

The lanky, dark haired teen moved finally, revealing a shorter blond one holding an odd looking staff with a wide grin on his face and two arms wrapped around his neck. "Oh, lots, huh? See if I share my food with you again, little brother." He teased as he half carried, half dragged his burden into the building, shooting the bemused adults a cocky smile.

"Oy, don't threaten that. You know he's just going to beg from us then." Another voice griped, the owner walking in with crossed arms and a false pout on his freckled face. As he came further into the bar Rayleigh felt his chest clench. The brat was almost the spitting image of Roger. "Hey, Cora-san. Guess what? Sabo's glider idea worked!"

"No thanks to you, Ace-ya."

"Jump off a cliff, Law. It's not like you were a big help." Ace snapped back.

"What was that, flame-brain?" Law snarled.

Sabo stepped in between the two of them, his other brother still hanging from his back, "Actually, you both were useless. Luffy was more help … Get off before you strangle me."

"Okay!" The teen that dropped from his back was smaller than the rest by at least a head. Hearing Shanks's sharp intake, Rayleigh looked closely, seeing nothing too odd about the thin, happy-looking youth with messy hair and dark eyes.

Rosinante sighed heavily, turning in his seat. "Ace, Law, knock it off or I swear I'll silence the two of you again. And Sabo, quit egging them on, or you'll be joining them." All three looked mildly contrite as the littlest laughed at them. "I thought I told you four to stay out of sight and _no climbing the trees_!"

_"_We weren't in them long..."

"That makes it worse!" The man snapped. "Who started it?"

Three hands pointed to the youngest who, with a wide grin on his face, proclaimed, "Law told me to."

"You are a moron."

"And you are _all_ in trouble. You know better than that, Law." Rosinante let out another sigh, eyeing them like one would look at feral animals before looking at Rayleigh. "My boys: Law, Ace, Sabo and Luffy."

"They seem like a handful." Rayleigh commented, not taking his eyes off the four who had just seemed to notice they weren't alone. Ace was attempting to herd Luffy behind his back with a dark look sent their way, while the boy was having none of it. Sabo was looking at them with guarded curiosity and Law was leveling a glare that promised pain.

"You have no idea."

"Got that right! We're more than enough to take out an old man like you!"

"Ace!" Rosinante snapped.

"What?! I ain't going back – we're free, dammit! I'd die first, Cora-san!" He threatened, leaving no doubt in Rayleigh's mind that these four had been through hell.

"Silvers-san is a friend. He's going to help us." Rosinante explained like he was talking to very small children. "He and Shanks-san are going to help get us a big ship—"

"About that, Cora-san—" Law began only to be cut off himself by the youngest.

"Shanks?! SHANKS is here?! Ace, Sabo! It's Shanks!" In a whorl of red and giggles the youngest threw himself at the yonko before anyone could react. Rayleigh turned in time to see his younger friend slide off his seat, clutching the boy to his chest as tears ran down his face. "Shanks Shanks SHANKS!"

He didn't know what shocked him more, the fact Shanks, of all people, was crying, or the fact the boy had sprouted wings. Judging by the wary looks he and Shakky were being given by the others in the bar, this wasn't new to them. It clicked why Rosinante would be protecting these four boys. "Winged Ds?"

"What's it too you?" Sabo threatened warily.

"Nothing. It just answers some things for me, is all." He smiled as harmlessly as he could. It was obvious they weren't buying it, though.

"Luffy... I thought you were... They found your hat and-" Shanks was saying.

"Mmm! It was so scary! I was really scared!" Luffy babbled. Ace came up and placed his hand between Luffy's wings, rubbing soothing circles.

"Doflamingo's crew attacked the ship. It was a slaughter. We thought- we thought they were going to kill us, too, but he'd heard somehow about us being Ds. _Winged_ Ds. It was hell with that man. He treated us like less than human. But we got away, and found Cora-san and Law."

"I'll kill that man before I let him touch my brothers again." Law vowed out, eyes dark and promising pain.

Shanks just held Luffy close. "Does your grandfather know?"

"Hell no! Jiji works for the marines! He'd just stick us in a cage, or worse. Even if he didn't want to, he would." Sabo growled out, "The whole system is corrupt."

"Which brings us back to what Law was trying to say before, Cora-san." Ace said, nodding to the tallest. Rayleigh suspected it was so he wasn't the one breaking news Rosinante might not like.

Judging by the glare Law gave him, he felt the same. "We don't think it is a good idea to sail together. I am planning on finding a way to bring Doflamingo down, and I won't risk my brothers." He nodded to Sabo.

"I want to see if I can do something about how corrupt the system has gotten. It's ridiculous that people are hunted down and killed over their _names _\- things they can't help! It wasn't like _we _asked to be born different; we weren't a threat to anyone." He turned to Ace.

"First, I'm gonna prove it doesn't matter what my name is, I'm my own person. _Then_ I'm gonna beat the shit out of Whitebeard and his crew for spying on us for the last few years and teach _everyone _not to fuck with me." Rosinante made a choked, strangled sound at that, but Luffy was already talking.

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates, because that's the person with the most freedom, right? And I'll find people who need to be free too and make them my crew and we'll show the world." He grinned widely. "but I gotta start in East Blue, because that's where the old Pirate King did, right, Sabo?"

"_Sabo..._"

The young blond held up his hands defensively, "I'll go with him! Just to get him started. I was planning on it, anyway."

"Ace saw some Whitebeard pirates around so he might be-"

"No. Just. No. I'm going with _you,_ boy, before your mouth gets you killed." Rosinante said, poking the now sulking Ace in the chest.

"I can still sink the ship."

"_Ace!_"

Shanks burst into laughter. "I can't believe you survived with the four of them. I'll tell you what- Law was it? - why don't you sail with me for a while? I can show you the ropes, huh?"

"This is... acceptable. Regardless, I will be meeting up with my brothers in two years." Rayleigh didn't think the world was going to be ready for that meeting. Hell, he didn't think it was ready for four Ds with a grudge to be unleashed upon it.

He grinned, "I'll get right on that ship for Luffy and Sabo, then." This new era was going to be exciting.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading the story! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it! Again, I want to thank my beta readers and my wonderful artist. The three of them were BIG helps with ideas and keeping me organized. As I've said before, I don't really think very linearly, (Anj and Wendy laugh about it usually) but it make for interesting writing sometimes... and I know it can be difficult to work with sometimes... Anyway. Here's some interesting facts about the boy's wings.**

**Ace's wings are based off of the African Fisher Eagle**

**Luffy ****wings are based off of the**** White Bellied Sea Eagle**

**Law ****wings are based off of the**** Osprey**

**Sabo WOULD have had been a Grey Headed Fish Eagle.**

**This means their PATTERN follows those of their kind of fisher eagle (Osprey is considered a fisher eagle, actually) but their colors are actually their favorite colors. Meaning, for example, Law's wings are yellow and black banded. Luffy's are red where the white Bellied Sea Eagle's wings are white... Ace's are orange in different shades, and Sabo's would have been blue.**

**Fun fact about the Wingspans:**

**African Fisher eagles - 2 - 2.4 m**

**White-bellied sea eagles - 1.78 - 2.2 m**

**Ospreys - 1.27 - 1.8 m**

**Grey-headed fish eagles - 1.5 - 1.7 m**

**The lower range is males usually...**

**So, Law is really really lucky Luffy's so short, or he'd have the smallest wings out of the three of them, even a****s the tallest.**


End file.
